Alicante Mountain

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• Welcome
• The Association
  • Background
  • Aims
  • Board of directors
  • How to become a member
  • Corporate image
• How to get there
• Mountain Regions
  • L`Alacantí
  • L`Alcoià
  • El Comtat
    • Valley of Seta
    • Valley of Travadell
    • Valley of Agres
    • Valley of Perpuxent
    • Barony of Planes
  • L`Alt Vinalopó
  • Marina Alta
    • Valley of Gallinera
    • Valley of Ebo
    • Valley of Alcala
    • Valley of Pop
    • Valley of Laguar
  • Marina Baixa
    • Valley of Guadalest
• Nature Reserves
  • Nature Reserve Font Roja
  • Nature Reserve Saws of Mariola
• Greenways
  • Greenway Program
  • Greenway to Alcoi
  • Greenway El Maigmó
  • Greenway Xixarra II
  • Greenway Serpis
  • Greenway Xixarra III
• Itineraries
• Festivals and customs
• Newsletter
• The Weather
• Red Tourist Info

Valley of Laguar

The Valley of Laguar appears before the eyes of the traveller stuck between the mountains of “La Carrasca” on the west, that of “Migdia” on the north and the mountain of “El Penyó” on the south. The latter two are crossed by the amazing gorge of the “Barranc de I`infern”; on the east, the green plains of orange trees and further back, the blue sea line framed by the magnificent mountains of Segaria and the impressive Montgó (nature reserve).

On the fertile hillsides of the mountain of “El Penyó” or “El Cavall Verd” are set the three towns of the valley: Campell, Fleix and Benimaurell, which hardly have nine hundred inhabitants.

The background of the Valley of Laguar or Al`Ahuar (the caves) is inexorably related to its Arabian origin and Moorish, who stayed in this area until the 17th century. When Felipe the Second instructs their final expulsion and the boats are already prepared at Denia`s port to take them to Oran, the Moorish in Laguar, commanded by the Miller Melini and the Healer Ezme, take shelter around the mythical mountain of El Cavall Verd (according to an ancient legend, a green horse would come in order to save them). Thousands of Moorish from the whole region get to take shelter around the mountain. Finally, they are hounded by the Naples infantry regiments, they surrender at the top of the mountain, the massacre is terrible and the valley is left deserted.

Some years later, the Duke of Borja, owner of the Valley, grants it to 27 Majorcan families who repopulate it.

What to visit?

 

Towns

Campell, where we can visit the Parish Church of Saint Ann. It has a rectangular ground plan with a gable roof and a nave covered by a barrel vault as well as side aisles with chapels. Its bells are peculiar, since its pealing during festivals offers a great sound show.

Fleix. It is the administrative centre of the Valley. The Parish Church of Saint Theresa and Saint Paschal is located in it. It is a simple building consisting of only a nave of rectangular ground plan with a gable roof and side chapels.

Benimaurell, whose Parish Church of the Saints Cosme and Damian from the 18th century follows the model of the previous ones: a rectangular ground plan with a gable roof and a Mediterranean style.

Other sightseeing places within the valley are the Castle of the Vall de Laguar, of great cultural interest, whose exact building date is unknown. Remains of ceramics from several ages have been found around it.

Tourists can also visit Torre La Casota. This building of great cultural interest corresponds with a military building, a tower that would combine the functions of guard and defence from an strategic point. The material culture traces in documents can be categorized between the end of the 11th century and the mid 13th, during the Almohad age, contemporary with a fortification moment in the Andalusian region against the Christian kingdom`s advance.

It is also worth mentioning the Chapel of “San Josep”, between Campell and Fleix, where the image of the Saint is kept as well as the public stone-built washhouses with gable roofs and side arcades.

Landscapes

The municipal area makes up a steep triangle, on whose vertex there is Benimaurell, and it goes down to Orba between terraces where fruit trees grow, specially cherry and orange trees. The area is crossed through by the river Girona, which goes into the municipal area through the “Estret del Infern” and goes down to the valley of “La Retoria” until it flows into Els Poblets.

Other sightseeing areas are the “Barranc del Infern”, the “Camí de les Jovades” which leads to Ebo, the “Cova Foradà” or the ascent of the “Cavall Verd” from the “Font del Camusot” in Benimaurell. Throughout the municipal area there are several springs producing very cold water among which the “Font del Gel” -the most popular-, the “Font d`Isbert”, the “Font de Campell”, the “Font Grossa”, the “Font de Fontilles” or the “Font de Reinós”, which is located within the “Barranc del Infern” itself, stand out.