La Vall de Laguar by campervan

Discover the hiking capital of the Marina Alta in a campervan: cobbled paths, cliffs and the famous Pas de la Tancada.

You've surely heard of the Costa Blanca: Dénia, Xàbia, Moraira… these well-known coastal towns belong to the Marina Alta region in the Alicante province, but do you know the interior? Championing inland tourism, we propose a Vanyou weekend on board a campervan discovering the municipality of La Vall de Laguar.

The municipality is made up of the villages of Fleix, Benimaurell, Fontilles and Campell. It's a mountainous enclave very well suited for hiking. There are many routes to do, but specifically we want to suggest the most popular of them, known as "The Cathedral of Hiking".

La Vall de Laguar was the last Moorish stronghold of the Kingdom of Valencia. The rugged terrain served as their refuge. They cultivated the land and, given the abrupt orography of the area, had to build the more than 6,500 steps that today cover a large part of the trail.

The trail itself has no technical complexity. However, considering the distance and the elevation gain, it can be considered a medium-difficulty route. A shorter variant would be to descend to the ravine and from there go up the dry bed of the river Girona to the exit of the Barranc de l'Infern, from where we'd return to the starting point.
The route is circular (best done anticlockwise) and follows the signposted PRV-147 trail. It's about 14 km long with 1,600 m of accumulated elevation. The approximate duration is around 6 hours, although it logically depends on each person's pace. We don't recommend doing the route in summer as it's very hot. It's important to carry enough water for the whole route — although we find fountains along the way, some may be dry.

The Cathedral of Hiking route starts in the village of Fleix. There's a car park opposite the municipal schools very close to where the route begins, where we can leave the car.
As always, we recommend starting early. It'll be easier to find parking and you'll avoid crowds and the hottest hours.

Leaving the car park along the road towards Benimaurell we soon find the right-hand turn-off to the Font Grossa and the wash-house. From here we reach the Forat, a hole carved into the rock. From here the steps begin. It's impressive to walk on them and imagine how they were built by hand so long ago.

We start a descent that takes us to the bottom of the ravine. From here we have the option of visiting the exit of the Barranc del Infern by following the ravine bed upstream. Round-trip will take us approximately an hour and a half.

The route continues across the ravine and up a climb of about 300 m elevation reaching Juvees d'Enmig. Here you can get water from the Pou de la Juvea. From here we descend again to the bottom of the Girona riverbed, and before that we pass by the Reinós fountain — we found water there.

We descend to the riverbed; we recommend crossing it tending to the right — there's no signage here and you may get confused. If you continue to the left, about 200 m below you reach the starting point of the Barranc de l'Infern descent. Remember this canyon requires canyoning knowledge and proper gear. Special caution in rainy seasons.
Once we cross the riverbed we pick up the PRV-147 trail again and begin a new ascent — the hardest of the whole route — leading us to Juvees de d'Alt. We then descend again towards Barranc de Racons to tackle the last climb, not as hard as the previous one.

We reach Benimaurell passing through the Font d'Olbis recreational area. In the village we pass the Benimaurell fountain and the wash-house. From here we return to Font Grossa and finish the route arriving back at Fleix.

An option to complete the weekend can be a simple route along the PRCV-181 — about 3 km return — to visit the Isber dam. This dam, now disused, never actually worked because it was built on highly permeable karstic terrain that prevented the dam from holding water, which simply filtered through.

We arrive at the village of Campell. We'll leave the car in the free car park on the outskirts; from here we'll walk to the village exit and on the left side of the road we'll find the turn-off.

A descent begins along a narrow path. Watch out! When you see the last painted trail mark on the left on a stone retaining wall, on the right on the ground you'll see a stone followed by a post with trail indications. If you don't see it, you'll start going down a path that leads nowhere.

At the end of the path you'll reach a house — the route continues between the house and the vegetation. There's a mark on a small white wall, by the garage doors of the house. From here you quickly reach a tunnel; we recommend bringing a torch, not so much on the way out but for the return. From here we reach the dam. We return via the same path.

This is just a part of what you can visit in the region — there are many more routes and corners to discover, like the Fontilles Sanatorium or the Atzavares Castle.

If you decide to visit the municipality with a Vanyou campervan, one option for accommodation is Camping Vall de Laguar: http://www.campinglaguar.com/.
We've visited the campsite — it has good facilities and is perfect for a weekend, plus the owner gives you great advice on the routes in the area.

All the route information can be found on Wikiloc.

As always, we ask you to be respectful with the environment you visit — leave no trace, take all the waste you generate with you.