This September, the MACMA team is committed to a different experience. We're taking the road and blanket and we propose you to visit the interior of the Marina by van or camper. A trip in the purest road trip style, designed to be done slowly  , enjoying secondary roads and mountain passes, to discover a way of traveling consciously and without haste.  

A LITTLE HISTORY. We know where we come from to decide where we are going.

Traveling by van or vanlife style  has become popular in recent years, especially in the wake of the pandemic, but this style of travel already has a long history. 

The first equipped caravan dates back to 1885, it is the “Wanderer” caravan built ad hoc by the Bristol Wagon Company for the Scottish doctor William Gordon Stables, also known for being a prolific author of fictional adventure books.

Since that first caravan in Europe, many others have followed, reaching great popularity in the 70s thanks to the arrival of campers. Vans adapted for travel that offered a more compact and economical alternative to traditional motorhomes and that also gave more flexibility and freedom to your travels. 

Traveling by van is closely related to freedom of movement, adventure and connection with nature, with a clear objective, to enjoy the simple life with less. Visiting at each stop the most significant and characteristic of the town through hiking or cycling routes. 

Advantages of traveling by camper or van: 

• Freedom and autonomy: Without major prior planning and flowing at all times, stopping for more days if necessary in a specific town or location.
• Budget and ecology: Sustainable for your economy to save on accommodation costs, maintenance, etc. In addition, making long trips in a van or camper is the most ecological model and with the least carbon footprint if we compare it to traveling by plane or other means of transport.
• Discover the world and yourself: These types of trips are highly recommended to do alone or with a companion, to get out of your comfort zone and become an opportunity to be with yourself, the landscape and connect with everything around you. Good readings will be your great travel companions.

Prohibitions and recommendations to follow: 

• Remember that there are areas with specific prohibitions on overnight stays, follow our recommendations to spend the night safely and in compliance with regulations.
• If you have a camper with a water tank, study the loading and unloading points beforehand to finish planning your stops and stages well.
• Buy and consume locally. If you cook in your van, try to use local products, it's well worth it.

And if you don't have a van, don't worry! Our proposal can be done by car and tent, since the proposals are to spend the night in municipal camping areas or campsites, so you don't have to suffer for anything. 

PROPOSED DAYS. Step by step we are making our way.

Our experience will show you the interior of our region, from the south, bordering the neighboring region of Marina Baixa, to the north, at the gates of the regions of Comtat and Safor. 

The stages are marked by the nights, since many of the locations chosen in our interior and far from so much light pollution, will delight you in enjoying starry nights and very interesting astronomical observations throughout the month. 

Through different apps you can observe and locate the constellations and planets. We have used the following, in case you feel like it:  SkyView Lite (available and free for Android and IOS). 

Below we leave you the most notable dates so you can plan your roadtrip: 

• On September 7 , with the full moon, a total eclipse, red moon or  blood moon , will take place .
• September 15 will be the  perfect night to spot  bright planets . Mercury will appear near the horizon accompanied by a very bright Venus. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will also be visible. Even with binoculars or small telescopes, you will be able to distinguish Jupiter's Galian moons or the red hue of Mars.
• On September 19th , a curious phenomenon will occur:  the Moon will obscure Venus for a few moments.
• On September 21 ,  Saturn will be at its closest point to Earth and illuminated by the Sun, which will make  its rings  clearly visible even with medium telescopes. In addition, it will also be the  night of the new moon , making it the perfect evening to observe the darkest sky and, therefore, easier to locate constellations and galaxies.
• September 22  will be the autumn equinox , in which the duration of the day will be exactly the same as that of the night and is traditionally related to balance and the beginning of the harvests.
• On September 23 , we will be able to see Neptune , much further away, as a bluish dot.
• On September 27  , the Moon will approach  Antares, the red giant star in Scorpius , providing a wonderful snapshot.

First night. On the outskirts of Bèrnia. 

Near the well-known houses of Bèrnia is the free camping area, a free space to spend the night that, despite not having showers, you will find areas to cook and wash the dishes. In a privileged environment, between dry stone terraces, olive trees and pine trees, it will give you a panoramic view of the entire  Sierra de Bèrnia that is difficult to match. It is highly recommended that you prepare a good dinner and wash it down with some wine from the nearby wineries, whether from Xaló, Llíber or Benissa, there is something for all palates and all budgets. And while you enjoy the wine, treat yourself to the views of the sky, which from here never disappoint. 

Location of the camping area

The next morning we will have to get up early to enjoy the sunrise illuminating the entire Serra de Bèrnia from the Penyal d'Ifac while enjoying a good breakfast. Then it will be time to break camp and take the road and blanket to begin our particular road trip through the interior of the region. 

In today's stage we will travel by road through the following towns: Xaló – Alcalalí – Parcent – ​​Coll de Rates – Tàrbena – Castell de Castells (Petracos) 

We will start the day by going down the CV 749 to  Xaló, where if you go on a Saturday you can visit its famous Mercat del Rastro (antique and second-hand objects) and the Mercat de la Terra. Visit its  tourist office to get the necessary maps and brochures about the Vall de Pop. And now, we will continue on the road until we reach  Alcalalí, park at the entrance to the town and walk through its historic center, crossing the tunnel you will reach the town square, clean and well-polished, where you will see the church and the  Torre d'Alcalalí, a symbol of the town, you will need to talk to the City Council beforehand if you want to visit it. From above you have the best views to see the orography of the entire Vall de Pop. Next we will arrive in  Parcent, a charming town nestled in the foothills of the  Serra del Carrascar, where there are a handful of routes to do depending on your physical abilities and the time you want to dedicate to it. In Parcent it is quite popular to go up to make a good paella made over a wood fire, you are invited if you fancy trying them. 

After having charged the batteries and got to know the town we will continue on the road, this time a road not suitable for those who do not handle curves well… But once you have overcome the trances of dizziness it is one of the most beautiful roads we have in the Marines. The CV 715 towards Tàrbena along the Coll de Rates, the road runs either through the places of the path or along the Camí de les Voltes, an old passage of bandits such as the Colla d'en Pinet or the Colla de Josep de la Tona, well known in the Marina Alta. Halfway you will find the Coll de Rates viewpoint, a mythical place to see the entire Girona plain and the mountains that surround it. At the end of the road is the town of Tàrbena, already in the Marina Baixa region, one of the few strongholds where the "salty" speech typical of the Mallorcans who repopulated these lands around 1610 after the expulsion of the Moors is still preserved. If you want you can stop in the town and if not we will take the road to start descending to  Castell de Castells, end of today's route and where we will spend the night. The CV 752, in which we can discover the Pla d'Aialt and its corrals or visit the  Municipal Natural Park of Els Arcs, a natural rock formation, where we recommend that you, if you can, come and do the route. 

We will arrive at the town of Castell de Castells, where there is the  Museum and Interpretation Center of the Petracos cave paintings, better known as the  Sanctuary of Petracos , which will allow you to learn about the world of the Neolithic and the agricultural revolution of 5,000 years ago. After seeing the museum, the must-see is the site, where you can enjoy its macro-schematic paintings of up to 1 meter in height right at night, when the sun goes down and they shine better than during the day. At the end of the visit, we will have to make our way back to the town and set up camp in the Castellet Camping area.

Second night. In the shadow of the Castellet. 

Upon arrival at the El Castellet Recreational Area, a natural space prepared for spending the night with a camping area, toilets with showers and a small park with swings. You can now prepare the camp for the night.

Location of the El Castellet camping area

After the night, from the campsite we can enjoy, surrounded by pine trees, a magnificent view of the mountain range at the top, and at the bottom we can see the town of Castell de Castells. We suggest you start the day by taking the  Castellet route , which starts from the same camping area and we can see the ruins of the Pou del Frare, the  ruins of the castle and the wonderful views it offers us. It is a low difficulty route and about 9 km away, at the end we will return to the camping area to pick up the camp and continue our journey towards Benigembla along the CV-720.

In today's stage we will travel by road through the following towns: Benigembla – Murla – Orba – La Vall de Laguar. 

Benigembla has different bars where you can order a typical breakfast, with its cocoas, olives, sandwiches and cremaet — keep in mind: there will be a Gastronomic Fair on Sunday, September 21 —. Afterwards, we can visit the town following the  BIMAU route , an urban art exhibition that turns the walls of the town's buildings into canvases. This exhibition is held every year in July, where artists present their projects to the town hall and a jury makes the selection. We can also visit the  Sindicat building or the Church of Sant Josep , in neoclassical style, except for the bell tower, which is baroque, square and made up of three bodies with a double spire at the top. In addition, on the main facade we can see its sundial, with an apparently simple operation: a stick, called a gnomon, projects its shadow onto a surface marked with units of time. As the Earth moves on its axis, the shadow of the stick marks the solar time. 

This municipality also has a camping area that is currently closed to the public, but they are in the process of opening it again. We leave its location, but you should check the status of the area at the city hall before going. 

Location of the camping area

We will continue the stage towards Murla, located in the middle of the Vall de Pop, in the upper course of the Gorgos River. It is a municipality with an agricultural tradition with rainfed crops such as almond trees and vineyards. With the phylloxera crisis there was a great migratory movement mainly towards the United States that still persists today. 

In Murla, on the weekend of September 26th to 28th, they hold the traditional Sant Miquel fire, where you can taste Borra de melva, a typical dish that is difficult to find on the menus of bars in the area. 

It is highly recommended that you take a moment in the church square and look around you, with the church-fortress in the background and with the  Cavall Verd and the Hermitage of Sant Sebastià at the top of the town, try to imagine the turbulent moments of the Laguar revolt in which more than 23,000 Moors rebelled not to abandon their homes. The painting by Jerónimo Espinosa can help you imagine the moment and will help you identify many places that you have visited or will visit throughout today. 

In the afternoon, the visit will focus on the town of Orba , visiting its streets and the  Museu del Fang will introduce you to a town with a pottery tradition, and in which you can end the day visiting some of the traditional potteries and purchasing some of their products. From here we will take the CV 721 road to end the day in  the Vall de Laguar . This has three population centers, Campell, Fleix and Benimaurell. Between the lower town and the upper town you will find a viewpoint to see one of the best sunsets in the area. 

Third night. In the middle of Laguar.

Location of the Vall de Laguar campsite

Once we have located and reserved our plot at the Vall de Laguar campsite. We can head to the Collado, which although it involves a short drive that we will have to do again later, is worth it to enjoy a beautiful starry night. We park the vehicle in the parking lot at the top and if we still want to look for more darkness, we can go slightly into  the path that crosses the Cavall Verd and from where we will have night views of all the mountain ranges of more than 1,000 meters that surround this place, as well as a good place to see and observe the constellations and other celestial bodies. We will end up returning to the campsite to rest until the next day, this campsite is characterized by the care of its vegetation and the tranquility to start the day that awaits us in which we will cross the Vall de Seta (el Comtat), to continue learning about the history of the Moors and their way of life, since we will visit the area with the most depopulated and best preserved Moors in the entire Valencian Country. 

In today's stage we will pass through the following locations: La Vall de Laguar – El Collado – la Vall de Seta – Masos de Capa i Mona – Beniaia – Alcalà de la Jovada - la Vall d'Ebo. 

To start the day, the proposal is a quiet walk between fountains and washhouses of approximately 3 kilometers. We will start by going down to  the Font de Campell and then go along the Murla path to the Ermita de Sant Josep  and then visit the Font del Gel, an emblem of the Vall de Laguar. Then, we will arrive at the town of Enmig, or Fleix, we will walk through its streets and square and we will cross the road to look for the Cantorres path to visit  the Font Grossa and its washhouse. We will retrace the path to the town and look for the medical office, where we will turn off onto Carrer de la Penya Llisa which will take us directly to the fountain in the town de Baix, or Campell, where our campsite is again. 

After our morning walk, we will have to break camp and take the road that crosses the entire valley to Collado, from where we will have exceptional views of the two towns, Laguar and Castell de Castells. We will climb the road down until we reach CV 720 in Castells towards Fageca, we will cross the middle of the Vall de Seta (in the neighboring region of Comtat) and at all times glimpse the Serrella and its magnificent landscapes, passing through Fageca, Famorca and Tollos, where we will take the detour to return to the Marina Alta, with the Vall d'Alcalà via CV 713. But before arriving we have a mandatory stop, provided your vehicle allows it and be careful, since it is a dirt road with little traffic, but at its end are the Capaimona farmhouses, old abandoned farmhouses where 13 Moorish families lived before the expulsion. 

Once the visit is done we will return to the road and finally arrive at Beniaia, one of the two population centers of the Vall d'Alcalà . There we recommend you leave the vehicle and take a short route to get to know the  Moorish Despoblat ​​La Queirola . In the Vall d'Alcalà you can visit up to 6 Moorish depopulated areas that can be visited with your vehicle almost to its entrance, with the exception of  Benixarcos which you can only see from afar. A unique opportunity to discover the habitats of the old Andalusian farmhouses that were abandoned, many of them following the expulsion of the Moors in 1609. On the attached map you will find all the exact locations so that you can plan your day well, and don't forget to taste the sausage and minxos in one of the bars of Alcalà de la Jovada , the other population center of the Vall d'Alcalà, where you can stroll through its streets and see the various  sculptures and murals dedicated to al-Azraq, the Muslim leader who rebelled against King Jaime I himself. 

To end the day, all we have to do is go to  the Vall d'Ebo , where we can visit the  Cova de Rull before arriving in the town, where we will spend the night and where we can taste a good hot dish. 

Fourth night. At the top of the Girona River.

The camping area of ​​Vall d'Ebo is fully equipped with kitchens, showers and everything you need to cook your own food if you prefer. The area is in the middle of a pine forest, on the edge of the village and right next to the municipal swimming pool. You must reserve a spot in advance at the Town Hall. 

Location of the municipal camping area of ​​Vall d'Ebo

At night we recommend a quiet walk to the Font i llavador de la Serra , from where you can enjoy the starry night away from it all. There you will find tables to have dinner if you prefer or simply to rest. 

The next morning you can visit the town, surrounded by apple and perellon crops native to the area. The municipality is crossed from top to bottom by the upper course of the Girona River, which later becomes the famous Barranc de l'Infern , shared with the Vall de Laguar. In the morning you can visit its  museum to discover the underground wealth of Ebo with all its caves and ravines, as well as learn a little more about prehistory in the Vall d'Ebo, with very important remains and sites such as the Cova del Reinós or the Cova Fosca, with remains from the Upper Paleolithic, from the first settlements in the Marina Alta along with others of similar chronologies. 

Once you have visited the museum and walked through its streets, breakfast is a must before breaking camp and hitting the road again. 

Today's stage will pass through the following locations: Almiserà – Pego – L'Atzúbia – Forna – La Vall de Gallinera 

We will take the CV 712 and turn off onto the Almiserà road, about 6 km from the Vall d'Ebo exit. This road will allow us to cross four municipalities with breathtaking views that will not leave anyone indifferent. We will cross the municipalities of Vall d'Ebo, Vall de Gallinera, l'Atzúbia and Pego, but before going down to Pego we will make a stop at the Almiserà observatory, located on the top of Gelibre at 757 meters above sea level, and where the  site of an Umayyad fort from the 10th century is located. If the weather permits, we will enjoy views of up to 70 km around and from where you can observe Benicadell, Montcabrer, Montgó, Cavall verd or even Serrella.

Once we arrive in  Pego, it is a must to visit the  Marjal Natural Park, where you can discover the shortest river with the highest flow per meter of length in all of Europe, the Bullent River. You can park your vehicle in the car park and take a  small circular route to discover the Bullent River and the Salinar, passing through the Blau del Galapatar (the deepest place on the Bullent River) or through the Gola del Bullent (with a wooden path that crosses an inland lake). You can also take the opportunity to do some shopping in the numerous shops in the municipality before heading up the Gallinera River to finish discovering the last towns on our particular route, l'Atzúbia and the Vall de Gallinera. 

We will arrive at Atzúbia by CV 700, a quiet town among orange trees where we can visit the  Cova del Tossal del Llop (prior reservation at the City Hall) and the  Forna Castle , which although now closed for restoration is a jewel of Valencian civil Gothic that you must know. Stroll through its streets and enjoy its freshness in the afternoon and get ready to choose your last night, in which we propose two alternatives.

Fifth night. On the banks of the Gallinera River. 

The first of these is to spend the night in the municipal camping area of ​​l'Atzúbia, a pine forest on the edge of the town fully equipped with hot water showers, barbecue areas and fountains. If you are going with a tent this will be your bet, but if you are going with a camper you can also choose the second option, the Safareig motorhome area, in Alpatró, at the top of  the Vall de Gallinera , which despite not having as much charm has a water area and the possibility of plugging in the electricity. 

Here are the locations of the two overnight areas: 

• Atzúbia camping area
• Motorhome area at the Safareig de la Vall de Gallinera

Either way, your choice will be right. If you spend the night in Atzúbia, you can already have good views of the Milky Way from there, but if you choose the Alpatró area, we recommend that you go to the  Mata de Benissili spring , have dinner at the tables set up for this purpose and walk to the abandoned Moorish village of La Solana to enjoy your astronomical observations.

The next day, calmly and with a break, you can take the  route of the 8 villages  to get to know the 8 villages of the Vall de Gallinera, a living fossil redoubt of the ancient Andalusian territorial distribution, with farmhouses that filled valleys and orchards on the banks of the springs.

And that's it for this month's experience, one that we are sure will not leave anyone indifferent and we hope you enjoy it.

*This experience is designed to be done in 6 days and 5 nights. The MACMA team proposes routes, spaces and buildings to visit, but each person can adapt the experience to their abilities and interests. If you want more information or elements to visit in each town, you can enter the website of  Descobrim la Marina Alta and adapt the experience to your tastes with the backpack. 

AND MORE. On the table and in bed at the first cry. 

Where to buy	where to eat
where to sleep	Activities and others