Alicante self guided walking holiday
| country: | Spain |
| location: | Alicante |
| trip type: | Moderate, self guided walking holidays |
| departures: | Daily departures from September to May |
| price: | From £565 (8 days) excluding flights. £80 single supplement |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Alicante self guided walking holiday
Trekking holiday through beautiful Spanish countryside.
If you are an explorer then this is the holiday for you. We provide the maps and directions you need for six days' trekking through beautiful mountainous countryside with overnight stops in whitewashed mountain villages. Options to shorten or lengthen the routes or to stay for longer.
Discover ancient Moorish villages hidden away in the high sierras, mountaintop castles, abandoned ice houses, drink crystal clear spring water and climb peaks with commanding views of valleys, peaks and out to sea. We provide you with everything you need: maps, clear directions, a packed lunch and transfer your bags on to the next hotel leaving you free to enjoy the walking, about 17 km and 550m of ascents daily.
You will travel almost entirely on good tracks and quiet country lanes so you can really enjoy the scenery, fresh air and peace and quiet. You also have options to stay for longer in one or more villages or combine with one or two days' guided walks. We also offer alternative routes where possible so you can adjust the trek to suit yourself as well as 24-hour emergency support.
Best time to go: We do not recommend July or August as it is generally too hot, but from mid-September onwards the climate is ideal for autumn, winter and spring walking. Months to consider are, October and November for the almond and olive harvest, December and January for mild winter walking, February when the almond blossom is out and March to May for wildflowers. During November, December and January temperatures average between 10ºC (min) and 17ºC (max).
If you are an explorer then this is the holiday for you. We provide the maps and directions you need for six days' trekking through beautiful mountainous countryside with overnight stops in whitewashed mountain villages. Options to shorten or lengthen the routes or to stay for longer.
Discover ancient Moorish villages hidden away in the high sierras, mountaintop castles, abandoned ice houses, drink crystal clear spring water and climb peaks with commanding views of valleys, peaks and out to sea. We provide you with everything you need: maps, clear directions, a packed lunch and transfer your bags on to the next hotel leaving you free to enjoy the walking, about 17 km and 550m of ascents daily.
You will travel almost entirely on good tracks and quiet country lanes so you can really enjoy the scenery, fresh air and peace and quiet. You also have options to stay for longer in one or more villages or combine with one or two days' guided walks. We also offer alternative routes where possible so you can adjust the trek to suit yourself as well as 24-hour emergency support.
Best time to go: We do not recommend July or August as it is generally too hot, but from mid-September onwards the climate is ideal for autumn, winter and spring walking. Months to consider are, October and November for the almond and olive harvest, December and January for mild winter walking, February when the almond blossom is out and March to May for wildflowers. During November, December and January temperatures average between 10ºC (min) and 17ºC (max).
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Transfer from the airport to Callosa de En Sarria where you can spend the rest of the day exploring the old town; narrow streets and houses built on Moorish foundations with views of the Mediterranean Sea. |
| Day 2: | Callosa to Benimantell, 13.9 km and 635m ascents. Today is an gentle walk of 4½ to 5 hours that takes you through irrigated terraces of oranges, lemons and loquats around Callosa and up into the olive, almond and pine groves of the surrounding hillsides. There are also views of the sea in the distance as you get higher. |
| Day 3: | Benimantell to Benifato, 14.4 km and 690m ascents. Walking time 5 to 6 hours. Today you will climb up onto the highest mountain range in the region, the 1558m Sierra Aitana. You will have an unrivalled view of the Costa Blanca. There is also a shorter 9 km and 650m route for those who prefer a more leisurely walk and a dip in the pool before the sun sets. |
| Day 4: | Benifato to Confrides, 18.7 km and 760m ascents. Walking time is 5½ to 6½ hours with an option for an extra +4 km. This walk takes you from east to west along the north face of the Aitana, passing several freshwater springs and three ice houses, large covered stone pits where winter snow was pressed into ice and stored until it was transported down to the villages in summer. |
| Day 5: | Confrides to Castells de Castells, 18.7 km and 495m ascents. Walking time is 5½ hours with a +6 km option for a detour to the castle. This walk takes you out of the Guadalest Valley, over Serrella and into the parallel Castells de Castells Valley. Your route is that of the ancient track that connected the two valleys, to get to today’s destination by road entails a 20 km detour. You will have excellent views of the whole Guadalest Valley as you approach the pass. |
| Day 6: | Castells de Castells to Tàrbena, 18.1 km and 520m ascents. Walking time is 5 hours with options for a 2 km detour to the rock arches and a +4 km detour to the site of an Iberian settlement. Today you travel through the quietest and most uninhabited part of your route into the hidden valleys of Garx and Bijauca, Moorish place-names that have survived for more than 1000 years. |
| Day 7: | Tàrbena to Callosa, 16.2 km and 280m ascents. Today is a relaxed day of mostly downhill walking that takes you through the olive, almond and pine groves of the Tàrbena Valley and into the semi-tropical Algar where you can visit the impressive Algar Falls, a series of natural pools and waterfalls, before finishing your circuit in Callosa where you started. |
| Day 8: | Transfer to Alicante airport for your return journey home. |
traveller reviews for Alicante self guided walking holiday
The scenery with great views, friendly locals, few tourists, excellent local food, wonderful wild flowers was most memorable. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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Your visit to this area will both make a difference to the local community and the to the environment. Rural depopulation and an aging population structure are slowly eroding the traditional way of life pursued by the inhabitants of these mountain villages for hundreds of years.
Our main aim in promoting this trek is to help provide these villages with an economic alternative that respects cultural and environmental values. In most, farming is the only means of earning a living. However, continuing reductions in crop prices and rising production costs means that it is becoming less and less viable to farm these steep mountains. Diversifying into rural tourism allows the villagers to develop an income that contributes towards sustaining the rural economy, and in turn, allows the villagers to continue caring for their land and conserves the diversity of flora, fauna and landscape. The conservation of these biological and landscape values is crucial in an area acknowledged as a European bio-diversity hotspot but that has little, or no, official status or protection. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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