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| The Costa Blanca
mountains are ideal for year-round walking. However the best time for
walking is March to May and September and October when the temperatures are
cooler. |
Costa Blanca Mountain Friends, a small
and friendly Mountain Club with activities in the Costa Blanca area of
Spain.
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A membership of mixed nationalities who
participate in various mountain activities which take place on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
New members are welcome but a reasonable level of fitness is essential.
www.costablancamountainfriends.com |
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The Costa
Blanca's mountains, with their dark rugged silhouettes, dominate this
landscape - an irresistible attraction for walkers.
Drive just a short
distance inland from the Costa Blanca beaches, and you will find market
gardens, orchards and orange groves, filled with wild herbs and flowers,
from daisies to exotic orchids.
The fertile valleys are
smothered in blossom or sweet-scented fruit and you will come across
delightful inland villages. Windmills, waterfalls and 'snow wells'
feature among the picnic settings. |
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| There are two popular
guides to mountain walking in the area:
Landscapes of the Costa Blanca, The Sunflower Guide by John and
Christine Oldfield
Mountain Walks on the Costa Blanca (A Cicerone Guide) by Bob Stansfield |
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The
Sunflower Guide is not strictly a mountain guide being concerned mainly
with sightseeing either by car or on foot and although it does include
some formidable walking, most walks would be classified as "leisure
walks", whilst Bob Stansfield's guide is more a record of his personal
walking. There
are two main areas for walking - the larger of which is bounded on the
west by the region's highest summit, the Aitana, and on the east by the
Puig Campana.
The other area lies to
the north and takes the form of a dramatic ridge rising more or less
from the sea known as the Sierra Bernia. |
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Puig Campana |
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Aitana |
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The Bernia Ridge
Recommended map:
Cartografia Militar de Espana:
1;50 000 BENIDORM AND BENISSA |
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The Bernia Ridge rises
from the sea from the Moro de Toix between Altea and Calpe. The first
part of this ridge is known as the Toix ridge but may be marked on the
map as "Mar y Villa". |
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The ridge
then descends to become the Mascarat Gorge through which the main road,
the motorway and the railway all pass. The ridge then rises as a great
cliff eventually easing to the first summit at the eastern end. From
here it continues and can be seen as a very jagged skyline from both the
north and south sides for about 4 kilometers. The highest point lies
well to the western end at 1126 metres. It is possible to walk along
some sections of this ridge with a certain amount of scrambling.
There are also popular
walks both around the ridge and through it. It can be approached from
either the Altea side (to the south of the ridge) or from the north
which is the natural starting point at the Bernia restaurant at a height
of approximately 650 metres. Six walks are possible, all starting from
the car park behind the restaurant:
The ascent of the highest
accessible point at the eastern end
The popular short circuit
The complete circuit
The western summit
approached from the east
The western summit
approached from the west
The ascent of Pena
Severino |
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| The Rock of Ifach |
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The Phoenicians called the Rock of
Ifach the "Northern Rock" to distinguish it from the "Southern Rock" at
Gibraltar, since these were the only spectacular promontories they
encountered in their travels throughout the western shores of the
Mediterranean. |
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| Ifach is indeed a large
rock, rising to 332 metres. Today the Rock of Ifach has been transformed
into a nature park to protect its unique vegetation and over 300 species
of animals, including colonies of sea birds that use it as a nesting
area. |
| Located here is a nature
school where local carnations and even original Robertonian orchids can
be admired. The peak itself can be climbed up a zigzagging track which
is compulsory climbing for anyone anxious to get a panoramic view over
the entire Marina Alta coastline. Mountaineers use the southern face for
practice, as it drops straight down to the sea.
To visit the nature park telephone 0034
96 597 2015 |
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