Route 1: Among caves and gorges
A wonderful journey through the morphologies left by water throughout his life.
The route allows us to travel from the peaks of the carbonated massifs (areas of preferential infiltration) where the rain outlines rough, semi-naked, cracked and deformed (lapiaces or lenares) lands, to the steep and embedded ravines in which runoff waters are channeled salvage. Finally, that same water, after its laborious and slow dissolution work, returns to surface in surprising and unexpected springs, closing a vital circle that ends in the sea.
Route that begins in the municipality of Pego and ends at the Cueva de las Calaveras (Benidoleig), one of the two LIHs in the province with greater appreciation for its high educational, scientific and recreational interest, as well as its landscape value. In this 59 km long itinerary you will see peaks, ravines, chasms, karstic caves…
This route also proposes four routes to adjacent points of high interest (distance indicated for round-trip):
- Lenar de Vall d’Ebo: 3,5 km (80% coche, 20% a pie; 1,5 h).
- Cova del Rull: 3,6 km (100% by car; visit: 30 min).
- Juvea de Dalt: 8,4 km (100% all terrain or by foot 3 h).
- Presa de Isbert: 3,3 km (60% by car, 40% on foot; 2 h).
Highlighted Places of Hydrogeological Interest
El Barranco del Infierno
Between the towns of La Vall d’ Ebo and El Campell, the river Ebo (known as Girona downstream) flows through the Barranco del Infierno. It is a narrow ravine that opens its way between the carbonated materials that go from the Senoniense (upper Cretaceous) to the Oligocene.
It is possible to make a route on foot through the ravine itself, which presents a medium difficulty..
One of the most outstanding Spanish canyoners, the Aragonese Enrique Salamero, after visiting the Barranco del Infierno in 2006 wrote the following: “This ravine is, without a doubt, the most relevant canyon of the Mediterranean peninsular arch and one of the best dry canyons. (…) The morphology of the entire sports section has an enviable aesthetics and there is no calcareous canyon that can shade it”.
The Mediodía Aquifer
The Sierra del Mediodía mountain range is situated in this geographical area of outstanding orographic, geological, morphological and hydrogeological contrasts, all of which is located in the Marina Alta region.
They are fundamentally carbonate saws that shelter aquifers of great importance, whose waters receive them from the infiltration of rainfall, a phenomenon favored by the karstification of which their permeable materials enjoy permeable outcrops.
This is a very large area that includes more or less accessible spaces and greater or lesser danger, as well as areas with facilities, perfectly equipped and easily accessible, and sectors that are totally lacking infrastructure that can only be reached on foot.
Calaveras Cave
It is a large karstic cavity in which a spring emerges, used for the urban supply of the nearby municipality of Benidoleig. It is located in the place of Tossal de Rafalet and its name is due to the discovery in the eighteenth century archaeological remains of 12 people. The cave has a visitable upper part, with a length of about 500 m, where it is dry and can be visited entirely on foot.
The visit to the interior of the cave ends in the area of access to groundwater as it is not visitable. However, it should be noted that several reconnaissance works have been carried out with diving equipment that have allowed the underground ducts to be traversed through its waters.
Other places of Hydrological Interest
El Marjal de Pego-Oliva
Mediterranean coastal wetland. It is a Natural Park in a very anthropic environment, close to important communication routes and easy access.
In this natural setting, besides informative activities (guided visits, school and private excursions), scientific activities (diverse researches), environmental activities (nature classrooms, ornithology,…) and recreational activities (hiking, cycling tourism, descent of the Bullens river…) there are other activities that are intimately integrated into the environment such as grazing, rice and citrus cultivation, fishing, etc.
El Forat de Pedreguer
Forat” is the Valencian expression equivalent to the Spanish word for hole. With this term is known by the local population a spectacular hole of the existing land in Pedreguer, municipality belonging to the region of Marina Alta.
Situated in the municipality of Pedreguer, El Forat is a sinkhole of 80 m deep, which occurred instantaneously on 2 August 1982, causing the soil and trees to sink to a surface of about 30 x 10 m.
It is included in the Caves Catalogue of the Valencian Community.
Microroutes
Lenar de Vall d’Ebo
This microroute, approximately 1.7 km (one way), begins in “El Refugi La Figuereta”, whose surroundings are conditioned with fountain, benches, tables and viewpoints from which to observe the plain of Pego, the marsh and the Mediterranean Sea.
In addition to the cracked morphology of the Lapiaz or Lenar de Vall d’ Ebo (surface formed by grooves or grooves of different sizes), several karst cavities called simas or “avencs” in Valencian (Avenc Ample, Estret and del Mig) are visited.
Isbert Dam – River Girona
The Isbert reservoir is located in the municipality of Orba, occupies 8 ha and has a maximum capacity of 1 hm3. The total distance of this microroute to the dam, which was builded on 1945, is approximately 1.7 km. (only one way), being able to travel the first kilometre in any type of vehicle.
The aim of this route is to observe the spectacular closure of the Isbert dam, its work as an infrastructure, and the typical morphology of a ravine or riverbed typical of the geographical area in which we find ourselves.
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