My name is Heidi and I come from Helsinki, Finland.
With my husband Olli-Pekka and our 3 dogs we live in Gran Alacant and enjoy the brilliant Mediterranean climate and possibility of discovering new hiking routes all over our Alicante province and sometimes even a bit further.
Ironically, I have a fear of heights, but I love the views from tops of the mountains too much to stay away. Our dogs are getting older so all the hikes need to be suitable for them too as they always go on our adventures with us. I also love photography and always take load of pictures from our hikes.
Directions for this hike:
The Municipal Natural Area “Els Arcs” was declared in 2005. It is located in the municipality of Castell de Castells, in the province of Alicante, in the Serra de la Serrella, and has an area of 401,33 ha.
- Driving Time: 1,5 hours
- Walking Time: 1,5 hours/7km
- Google maps directions: Ruta als Arcs de Castells de Castells
The arch rock formations are definitely a sight to experience. Panoramic views over the mountains and the valleys are truly beautiful. There are few houses around the area, but at least we didn’t have any mobile connection starting from the parking.
PNM Els Arcs is easy to find. Just put down “Ruta als Arcs de Castells de Castells” to Google Maps and it will pinpoint the very place to you where the route starts. You can park your car next to the dirt road. There’s an information sign showing you the marked path.
You start from number 1 and make your way following the signs and the painted white/yellow stripes. You can choose which places you wanna visit. Definitely opt to see the arches.
The whole route is about 7km depending which sights you will choose to see from the circular path (they have their own separate legs). Elevation was about 200 meters so you don’t have to be a mountaineer to manage this route.
The scariest place for me was the surroundings of the arches as it is quite steep on both sides of them. Still I was really ecstatic to experience these arches. These arches have formed naturally in the Paleogene Period about 30 million years ago.
The plants of the Paleogene Period are very similar to the plants that we have on earth today. The warm climate at the beginning of the period was perfect for the dense forest plants. As the climate cooled, open woodlands and grasslands became abundant. The grasses were important because they supported huge herds of grazing animals. That’s when Mammals became the dominant animals.
Hope you enjoy this hike,
Until next month,
Heidi & Olli x
