de la serra de mariola - Parques Naturales - Generalitat Valenciana

Cocentaina castle
Núria Lara Bernàcer
tants of the surrounding farmsteads. In a gothic
military style, with ogival shapes in arches, doors
windows and interior decoration, it has a square
floor plan 13x12 m, on a masonry embankment
and 2 storeys, with an interior patio and cistern.
Now restored, you can visit this by requesting the
keys from Cocentaina Council. From the vantage
point you can see from left to right, La Quebrantà
ravine, Albaida pass, Benicadell mountain, La Safor
mountains, Beniarrés reservoir, the Sierra de
Almudaina, Aitana, La Serreta, el Carrascal de la
Font Roja, Els Plans and finally the Pico Negre, a
stone spur behind which there are the Monteses
and Montcabrer peaks.
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from the mountain in a practice inherited from
the Arabs. Then you will head into a dense pine
forest with briar, rosemary, buckthorn and as you
get higher up, camomile, rabo de gato (Sideritis
angustifolia), field eryngo and the Lygos sphaerocarpa
shrub. The presence of excrement here
indicates the presence of fauna: foxes, field mice,
rabbits, etc; it is easy to observe the flight of birds
such as the Sardinian warbler, common kestrel
or the coal tit.
The path links up with a track that leads to a vantage
point at the feet of the castle (point 2): a
Christian tower dating back to the 13 th -14 th centuries,
built on the remains of an old 10 th century
Moslem castle, which had some military control
over the important route through the surrounding
land, as well as offering shelter for the inhabi-
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Go down to the west along the concreted path
between little houses with hawthorn, kermes
oak, buckthorn and cat’s claw, mixed in with
ornamental species and cultivated terraces;
ignore any forks until you come to a path on
the left in a pine spinney which forms part of
Sant Cristòfol recreation area Chapel [point 3],
erected in the 15 th
century in a woody zone
ideal for a rest.
Leave by the car park towards the road, ignoring
the fork to the left leading to Les Huit
Piletes and continue along the road, around 150
m, until you come to an asphalted track on the
right. In a few metres this changes into a path
which drops around the hill to the first houses
in the village and the Pla de la Font, from which
you should go on through the streets of the Vila
to the starting point.