This was our second visit to Xà bia, also known as Jávea, a coastal town in the comarca of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencia, in Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. Situated on the side of the Montgó Massif, in the Parque Naturel del Montgó (the Montgó Nature Reserve), behind a wide bay and sheltered between two rocky headlands, Xà bia/Jávea has become a popular seaside resort.
We stayed in the same apartment, off the Avenida de Augusta, both times. From our bedroom window we could see the Montgó Massif, so during the first visit I promised myself I would climb to the summit if ever I visited again. This time, not only did we summit Montgó, we also explored other routes within the Montgó Nature Reserve on foot and by bike.
The imposing Montgó Massif towers 753m over Xà bia/Jávea and Dénia, the latter being a port city which faces out towards the Balearics. We drove along the Xà bia/Jávea-to-Dénia road and found a car park off to the left. The first part of the walk was on a flat, wide, gravel path. Then the path began to zig-zag its way up the mountain in varying degrees of slope, sometimes quite steeply. There are times when the path flattened out and we could relax and enjoy the view...yet knowing that there must be a steeper ascent ahead! After an hour or so of climbing this zig-zagged path, it appeared to end abruptly at the edge of a cliff with a steep drop beyond. In fact, we wandered around for a bit at this point wondering where the path had gone. From here on, there was rarely a discernible path. We had to look out for the white and yellow markings painted on rocks which assured us that we were on the right track. It was a bit of a scramble but great fun and well worth the effort: the views from the summit were amazing. We followed the same route back down, carefully watching out again for the white and yellow markings. From this day on, every time I looked up at Montgó (and it is rather difficult to not see it from anywhere around) I had the satisfaction of knowing I had been at the top looking down. It wasn't a particularly challenging walk but it would not be accessible to anyone with mobility issues due to the stretch of scrambling up the ridge towards the summit and is certainly not recommended for anyone who is not good with heights, due to sheer drops in places. I would suggest good walking boots and I would not attempt it in bad weather (is there ever bad weather in this area?!).
During our most recent visit, we hired bikes for a week from Xabia's Bike:
The staff at the bike shop were friendly and helpful and the hire cost was reasonable at 8 euros per bike per day. The bikes were good quality and I was able to hire a helmet too (see photo below!). Hiring bikes gave us a bit of freedom to explore the area further. We managed a different route each day, but not always on Montgó Nature Reserve.
We picked up a leaflet called 'XABIA EN BICI' from the Tourist Information Office in XÃ bia:
which featured a large map and a number of routes. The one we chose to do on the Montgó Nature Reserve was called 'Les Planes Route'. We cycled from our apartment to the port and then took the very steep road up to Cuesta de San Antonia. The climb was hard and I had to make a few stops (to admire the view, of course!). However, for me the worst bit was cycling along the Xà bia/Jávea-to-Dénia road. Cycling in Spain (this area at least, I don't know about any other) is great as there are cycle paths alongside most roads, but not on this one. And this road has quite a few switchbacks. I had to cycle fast up the hill so as not to be on the road too long. I needed to stop for a breather and a drink of water once we reached the Plana Justa! From here we took a circular route, enjoying the flat, gravel paths and lovely views (see photo below). Afterwards we cycled back to Les Planes and stopped at Els Molins (the windmills) before cycling back down to the port and back to our apartment.
On another occasion, we did a circular walk from Les Planes. From the car park, we took a well-defined path across the Montgó Nature Reserve towards the sea. We walked past the Urbanisation El Greco, which is locally referred to as The Ghost Town. This is basically a derelict building site. The result of property developers not completing a project, changes in planning permission due to the natural area becoming a Nature Reserve and then a lot of uncertainty, but it is fascinating to see! We walked right past the crumbling houses, some nearly finished and others just as shells, many covered in graffiti, and arrived on a road. We took this road down to the shore. Here you can pick up the promenade which takes you all the way in to Dénia marina (we returned another day and took the promenade into Dénia, another lovely walk!). We turned right, walked past La Rotas and up a road called Carrer de La Via Lactea to the Torre del Gerro, a 16th century watchtower. From the watchtower, we walked back across the Nature Reserve to the car.
Finally, the walk up to Cabo San Antonio is one that we did a few times! The views from the lighthouse are lovely and well worth the steep climb. We walked up the footpath from the port and back down the same path; up the road from the port and along to the lighthouse, and back down the footpath; and up the footpath and back down the road!
We walked other routes during this holiday. And we cycled up other hills (always seemed to be a hill!) and visited some beautiful coves...but that is for another blog piece!
