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Project

6 Days tour around Serra Mariola

MARIOLA are so many things……La Mariola is you, it’s me, it’s us. A universe composed of paths, fountains, ravines, snow wells, aromatic herbs, eagles, vultures, wild boars… A lot of legends, cultural heritage, festivals and traditions. Twinned towns to the beat of the dances, the tabal and the dulzaina….. Mariola is you, it’s me, it’s ,,,so many things…..

From the Tourism department of IES SERRA MARIOLA in MURO we have been thinking about how to use this unique Valencian area from a tourist perspective and fundamentally how to do it from an ecological and sustainable perspective.

Muro or any of the villages that participate in the 6 Days tour around Serra Mariola, become the ENTRANCE GATE TO THIS NATURAL, CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL UNIVERSE. A gateway that puts the traveller in contact with the environment, a gateway that transports us to unforgettable experiences and moments.  

Mariola and tourism have always maintained a close relationship. Every day, every weekend, we find hikers, cyclists, runners, mycological experts in search of the most coveted mushrooms …. The normal thing is to enjoy a day in the mountains or in the surrounding villages, at the most a weekend, but we do not find a structured tourist product that covers it fully and structured in stages to be enjoyed in its entirety. At least the members of this training cycle are not aware of this..  

Well, this is our aim, to create a tourist product that covers the Serra Mariola in 6 stages and in a circular way, making it possible to visit the main tourist resources of the towns that make it up, to spend the night, as well as to enjoy the gastronomy that it offers us. 

The efforts of Pep Palmer and Rafa Albero (tireless collaborators of these studies of tourism and ideologists of this tourist product) and of our students and teachers will be rewarded if we make this possible. . 

Thanks everybody

The SERRA MARIOLA was declared a natural park on 8th January 2002. With an extension of 16.000 hectares, located between the regions of the “Vall d’Albaida”, “l’Alcoià” and “el Comtat”, which includes the municipalities of Agres, Alfafara, Banyeres, Bocairent, Cocentaina, Muro…  .

It stands out for its abundant springs, the numerous farmhouses and a large network of paths that show the intense activity and use of natural resources carried out by its ancient settlers: snow merchants, shepherds, lumberjacks, etc.. 

One of the most important signs of identity of the park are the “neveros” or snow pits, in operation between the 16th and 20th centuries: constructions for the storage of snow.

Other outstanding constructive elements are the various farmhouses, castles and hermitages to be found her. 

A true plant landscape, with more than 1,400 varieties of plants, it is a magnificent exponent of the biodiversity of species with aromatic and medicinal properties: sage, camomile, thyme, cat’s tail, hypericum, rock tea. Many of these herbs are used in the production of unique drinks (herbero), as a culinary condiment, as a remedy for countless ailments, and in the production of perfumes… Most of the mountain range is covered with pines and bushes with heather, holm oaks, gorse, steppes, yews … 

The fauna is made up of amphibians, reptiles, birds (chaffinch, partridge, greenfinch… diurnal birds of prey such as the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon or the goshawk, and nocturnal birds such as the owl, the carab, the owl…) and mammals (wild boar, rabbit, wild cat, fagina, mostela, genet, badger, fox…). 

It is also worth mentioning the river Vinalopó, which rises in Bocairent and the peak of Montcabrer, which is the highest in the park at 1,390 meters. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

We want to thank the teachers of the different departments of our high school “IES Serra Mariola” that have participated in this interdisciplinary project:

IT department

Valencian department