Walking on the Costa Blanca : 50 mountain walks and scrambles

Behind Spain's most popular holiday coast lies a dramatic landscape of limestone peaks, knife-edge ridges, and deep gorges that most visitors never see. The Costa Blanca mountains around Alicante, Benidorm, and Calp are one of Europe's finest winter sun walking destinations, with 1500m summits, wildflowers, and T-shirt conditions under blue skies from late autumn through to early spring. This Cicerone guidebook by author Terry Fletcher, who has walked and climbed in the Costa Blanca mountains for more than 30 years, describes 50 circular walks and scrambles ranging from 3 to 20km (2 to 12 miles) and taking 2 to 7 hours. The 50 routes are graded and organised across five areas—from the north around Montgo and Serra Segaria to inland from Calp, inland from Benidorm, the Serrella, and Alcoi and the west—giving comprehensive coverage of the Costa Blanca mountains. Scrambles are mainly Grade 1 but may be exposed and require a head for heights, whilst walking routes range from gentle strolls through mountain villages to demanding full-day summit ascents to suit all abilities. Every walk is illustrated with 1:50,000 maps and supported by detailed information on planning, access, and parking, making it straightforward to reach each trailhead from the coastal resorts of Calp, Altea, and Benidorm. Background information covers the geology, wildlife, plants, flowers, and history of the region, adding context to the limestone peaks, deep ravines, and plunging sea cliffs you encounter on the trail. From the high summits of Aitana and Puig Campana to the jagged crests of the Serra Bernia, Cavall Verd, and the plunging sea cliffs of the Serra Gelada, explore Spain's most popular winter sun walking destination with confidence.