summits. Many make use of the constantly improving PR-CV (sometimes abbreviated to PR-V) network of Pequenos Recorridos de la Communidad Valenciana. The name means ‘short walks’ although some can be more than 50km long. They are ‘short’ only to differentiate them from the long-distance GR network. Some of the most enjoyable paths are old Mozarabic trails (see History).
The need for circular routes has meant leaving out some excellent linear expeditions only available to those with access to two cars or a driver willing to drop them off and collect them at the start and finish. That would open up a whole new range of possibilities, notably full traverses of the various serras. Many of the PR-CVs are based on old trading routes between towns and villages and can only be fully explored by those with these flexible transport arrangements.
The paths and tracks used vary from rural and forestry roads to narrow trods that are little more than goat trails across steep slopes. The status of a path as a PR-CV should not be taken as meaning it will be either clear or maintained. Paths generally receive little attention and can be badly eroded and loose. A useful approach is to prepare for hard pounding and to welcome the easy sections or forest trails carpeted with pine needles as a welcome bonus. Because of the aggressive undergrowth, often hiding fissures in the limestone, any path is usually safer and infinitely preferable to bushwhacking.
Despite their proximity to the holiday beaches these are serious mountains with all the hazards that entails and are neither to be underestimated nor taken lightly.
Waymarking
The only consistent characteristic of the waymarking is the infinite variety of ways it finds to be ingeniously inconsistent. Even on paths of the same status, such as PR-CVs, it varies from excessively lavish to near invisible. PR-CVs are marked in yellow and white, occasionally on official signposts or, more frequently, with paint flashes on rocks, walls and trees. Two straight lines mean carry straight on, curved lines indicate a turning while crossed lines mean you are going the wrong way, probably having missed a junction.
From top: Markings showing a change of direction, straight on and wrong way
In addition some villages also have a network of local paths, senderos locals (SLs). Often little publicised beyond the village boundary, you may find them marked on a noticeboard in the village square or a local bar may have a leaflet. The more official ones are marked with green and white paint, mimicking the PR-CVs, while more impromptu tracks tend to have occasional splodges in whatever colour was to hand.
Signposting tends increasingly, but again not always, to be in the regional tongue Valenciano rather than Spanish and sometimes even switches between languages on the same walk. In the text, a pragmatic approach has been taken of using whichever name seemed, at the time of writing, to be most helpful given local signing.
As everywhere, signposts are at the mercy of vandals, souvenir hunters and grumpy landowners and can appear and disappear with alarming speed. Exploring an alternative finish to one route I discovered the most useful marker post had disappeared literally overnight.
Maps and language
It is said that a man with a watch always knows the time while a man with two watches is never quite sure. Those raised on the comforting certainties of the Ordnance Survey may come to feel much the same about Spanish maps. The only series to completely cover the area are the IGN ‘Military Maps’, which, to put it kindly, enjoy less than universal acclaim. In recent years they have been joined by various commercial competitors such as Terra Firma, El Tossal and Discovery. These are a vast improvement but as yet none covers the entire area.
Difficulties can also arise when trying to use different maps simultaneously, a problem compounded by the use of the competing languages, Spanish and Valenciano. The latter was suppressed during the rule of General Franco but is now making a strong comeback on road signs, waymarkers and, increasingly, on maps. The reintroduction is not being prosecuted with the aggressive vigour and even venom shown further north in Catalunya but the changeover is gathering pace. Road signs and waymarkers which were once in Spanish and later bilingual are more and more exclusively in Valenciano. Brits who have long had a love affair with the Jalon Valley now find only Xalo signed from the main road and Calpe is losing its final ‘e’. Benidorm remains forever Benidorm.
Mind your language... Spanish sign converted to Valenciano
This mix of languages throws up different spellings and occasionally even different names for the same places, which may bear little relation to each other. Readers are very strongly advised to carry the appropriate large scale map as well as the book. These can be bought from the larger suppliers in the UK and are available in Spain from shops such as the Libreria Europe in Calp, which also operates a mail order service. See Appendix C for details.
The main maps recommended are Serra Aitana, Serra Bernia, Montgo and Les Valls (Terra Firma), Costa Blanca Mountains (Discovery) and La Serrella and Serra Mariola (El Tossal).
A short Valenciano–Spanish–English glossary is given in Appendix B to help you follow maps and signs as you walk.
Using this guide
Information is given in a box at the start of each walk description, and also listed in the Route summary table in Appendix A, to help you choose the route that’s right for you.
Distances are given in kilometres and heights in metres. Because of the nature of the terrain and the quality of paths some of the walks demand a greater degree of mountaincraft and ability to navigate and move over difficult terrain than others. Please heed the warnings in the text and pick your routes accordingly.
Timings are as walked by me, a sexagenarian with high-mileage knees, and are inevitably subjective. They should be treated as a rough guide only until you have walked a few of the routes and had a chance to compare our respective paces. Please ensure adequate daylight to complete the walks until you have got the measure of my timings, which do not allow for stops.
Likewise the grade of difficulty is as I personally found it. Please take note of any warnings in the text. Easy routes are fairly gentle strolls. Moderate walks demand more effort and may involve rough going. Strenuous routes are demanding days, often with steep climbs and/or descents. The scrambles are about Grade 1 but may be exposed and broadly compare to routes such as Bristly Ridge or Crib Goch in Snowdonia or Sharp Edge in the Lake District. Some entail large drops.
The Serra Bernia (Walks 10–12)
A fast-changing region
All the routes were walked or re-walked especially for this publication. However, the Costa Blanca is an area in constant flux. Floods, fires and landslips can wreak dramatic changes within hours while at lower levels development continues apace. The financial crisis of 2008 stalled the building boom for a while before it regained momentum, fuelled in part by money from Eastern Europe. This means that some dirt roads are gradually being metalled or concreted, while new roads, or even entire developments, will appear over time.
If you come across a problem or a change please contact me via the publisher (see ‘Updates to this Guide’ in the prelim pages) so that alterations can be posted on the website and incorporated into future editions.
The abrupt headland of the Serra Gelada towers over the Benidorm high rises, from Calp
THE NORTH
On the summit of the Tossal Grau with Montgo in the distance (Walk 2)
WALK 1
Traverse