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.
This month we go flat along river Seco from Mutxamel. Don’t go on this walk if it has rained a lot or it’s about to rain. We will literally walk in the river. This is best, and only possible, after a dry season. Or if you wanna see the dams and have a picnic and don’t even wanna walk further than that.
- Driving Time: 30 mins
- Walking Time: 1-2 hours
- Google maps directions: Área recreativa La Sabateta Mutxamel
The route starts at Área recreativa La Sabateta Mutxamel with it’s nice picnic area with barbecue possibilities and good sized parking place with route information signs. The route is marked well with white/green stripes. White/green tells us that it is a local route.
From this recreational area you can also choose a route going left to Lloma Ramos. We chose to head out right to Assut de Sant Joan which is an old dam.
The start of the route is nice and easy. Old dams and bridges give a lot to look at. Mostly you are walking at the bottom of the river (so definitely do not take this route on a rainy day / period), so you’ll see a lot of green and might see some rabbits and birds. We saw a stork and lots of rabbits. Heard hundreds of birds singing along the humid areas. It felt a bit rain forestry.
River Seco wasn’t as dry as the name indicates. And the path crosses the river – twice (depending how much water is running the day you visit)! At some point of the river it was very difficult to understand which side of the river you are supposed to walk on. But you follow the river all along, so won’t lose the route in greater sense.
At some point there was rocks you were supposed to use to go over the river. I chose to take off my shoes and just wade through. Water was very shallow. Just few centimetres. Bit muddy, and not too cold. I got a bit of a spa treatment at the same time. 🙂
At the end when nearing Assut de Sant Joan there might be too much water that you are not able to get there. We managed to climb to the bridge and cross the road to see the dam. We also continued the path from the dam to El Cantalar for a kilometre or so. That part of the path was marked nicely. But the scenery didn’t bring anything new and some storm clouds were gathering in the sky, so we decided to head back. Our total route was bit over 7km.
Another nice river walk is along river Vinalopo in Elche. There we parked our car at Carrer de Benifaió which was easily found with Google Maps. There was lots of free parking space right next to the river bank.
It’s an easy walk. There’s lots to see with the bridges, mills and old aqueducts that the Romans have built, as well as the 1,2 km long mural artist from all around the world have created to the banks of the river. Lots of shade available and you can easily walk up from the river to the old town Elche area to see the sights.
Hope you enjoy this lovely hike,
See you next month,
Heidi & Olli
Check List:
Always when going on hikes check that:
Your Mobile Phone is fully charged
Water – climbing up is hard job & you will need it
Snacks (Remember to take all the garbage back down with you!)
Have good shoes for walking
Have small first aid kit with you
Have layered clothes. Up hill might be
– very windy and cold, even on a warm day.
– Coming down might be chilly, so extra dry
– t-shirt to change into if needed is not a bad idea
Always tell someone where you are going and when you’ll approx. be coming back
