In the Jalon valley in the Alicante region is a beautiful ravine with a dry river at the bottom. Across this, the Moors built a main thoroughfare for donkey traffic in the 16th century. The area is called la Vall de Laguar, while the ravine is called Barranc del Infern. The route we will follow for the first part is called Cathedral de senderismo.
It starts at the small mountain village of Fleix in the heart of the Jalondalen. You park in a large exit parking lot on the outskirts. Then you go 100 meters further on the road towards Benimaurel, where you turn right down an asphalted road.
After approx. 50 meters on you come to an old Lavador where the women used to wash clothes in the clean spring water that flowed through the basins.
Ten meters after this you will come to an information board showing the long round trip you can take - Cathedral del senderismo. Take the path down to the right at the sign.
You then follow the yellow/white markings down to the dry riverbed of the Río Girona.
At the start, the path is narrow and relatively gentle.
After a few hundred meters you come to a hole in the rock with a wooden bridge. On the other side of this you get a magnificent view of the ravine and the surrounding mountains.
This is where the actual transport year begins, where the Moors have made stairs that make it possible for donkeys with packs to climb the steep mountain side.
The stairs go in hairpin bends so that the climb feels relatively easy despite the fact that the slope is steep.
As long as you stick to the stairs and the marked paths, there are no dangerous areas on this tour, but outside the paths there can be life-threatening holes.
Continue on the path until it crosses the dry river bed. Here you turn right. Then continue straight ahead until you reach a dam.
The dam wall is strategically placed in a narrow pass. It would therefore have been a small and cost-effective building if it had worked as intended.
Unfortunately, it turned out that there were too many holes and channels in the riverbed and along the sides that led the water away. No water therefore entered the dam.
After the visit to the dam, the trip returns the same way. In total, you will have walked two thousand steps when you are back at the starting point.
The short walk of the Cathedral del senderismo route goes on the Moorish road down to the dry bed of the Rio Girona and over to the old dam - then back the same way. It's a fun ride without dangerous parts if you follow the marked path. But stick to the path, because outside this there can be life-threatening holes and tunnels in the ground.
More excursions: www.turideer.com
This week's excursion: Cathedral del senderismo short route to dam and back.
Suitable for: Everyone in normally good physical shape, including children.
Duration: 7.2 km, approx. 3.5 hours of walking with a break. You walk approx. 300 vertical meters down and up and 2 000 stairs.
Get there: Enter Parking Fleix Club Sendas y Montañas in Google Maps. Alternatively: drive the N-332 from Altea towards Denia. Take off towards Xalô at Benissa. Drive the CV-750 through Xalô and then Alcalalí. At Puerta del Valle, turn right and follow the CV-715 to Orba. From Orba you follow the CV-715 to Campell and later Fleix. On the outskirts of Fleix you will find the large car park. From here you continue on foot approx. 100 meters towards Benimaurel where you go down to the right.
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