Friday 8th February 2019
January, February and March are ideal months to see the almond trees in blossom around several parts of Spain, including the delightful area known as the Vall de Pop. We had read that the Alcalalí or Flower festival is held throughout February and there are several events which take place during this month too.
So a day trip through the valley with the hope of enjoying the blossom seemed a good choice.
The town of Jalón, which is located in this valley, is about 90 kms from our base and if we had thought about it before we would have visited whilst in Oliva (only 30 minutes away) but being only an hour and a half away it wasn’t too much of a chore.
We decided to take the A roads around Alicante and Benidorm and head inland to Jalón and enjoy a spot of lunch before taking the windy roads through several of the villages on our way back towards Benidorm.
Jalón or Xaló, as it is known locally, is a town of narrow streets, criss-crossing each other and quite nice to wander around. It is situated beside the River Gorgos, surrounded by the Sierra de Bernia and the Sierra del Forner mountains.
As we walked we passed by the huge church of Jalón in the main town square, with its impressive blue dome and outdoor cafes and bars. The town was heaving with cyclists, as were the surrounding roads we found out later, many who were heading for the Velosol cycling bar, to enjoy a well earned beverage before heading off again on their cycle.
We discovered a lovely restaurant, Casa Caty on the CV 749, where our pavement table in the sun made the ideal place for a spot of people watching.
Our 9€ Tapas menu was delightful, with several dishes, some lightly spiced with Moroccan flavours.
Back in the car we headed out of town along the river towards the town of Alcalalí with almond trees in bloom either side of the road and onwards to the town of Parcent and the beginning of our descent up several twisty roads and steep climbs in the Jalón valley, along with several groups of amateur and professional cyclists, enjoying the challenge and the mild temperatures.
At the Coll de Rates observation point we paused to admire the spectacular views across the valley and the towns below before continuing up the mountain pass on CV 715 to Tárbena and Bolulla.
The terraced slopes along the route gave us views of the almond trees, although not as spectacular as we had envisaged but nevertheless delightful.
At the viewpoint in Tárbena, Ray let loose the drone to take in the scenery below of the blossom trees and the twisty road that the cyclists and cars were navigating, as well as the surrounding mountains.
As we left Tárbena and the groves of almond, lemon, orange and olive trees the scenery began to change and we realised we had seen the last of the attractive views and the wonderful mountain roads.
One final highlight was the Barony of Polop where we did park the car and take a walk along the lovely promenade with views of the Moorish castle high above the village.
Onwards we went through the large town of Nurcia with its large modern retail stores and roundabout after roundabout, before finally reaching the outskirts of Benidorm and our journey home to the campsite.