Natural parks near Alicante
In the surroundings of Alicante are many interesting parks, which are very fond of visiting not only tourists, but also the Spaniards themselves.
Guadalest
It is one of the most visited places in the province Alicante in Spain. Only 30 minutes from Benidorm and 1 hour from Alicante to the north and you'll feel like you're in another world, in the Middle Ages, where time seems to have stopped and only the present moment has value here!
Guadalest is a small but picturesque museum village located on top of a rocky ledge and surrounded by high mountain ranges. The settlement was begun by Muslims in the eleventh century, who also built the San José Castle on top of the rock face(Castillo de San José), which played an important role in its time. With its location, the fortress earned its second unofficial name - "Eagle's Nest". But two earthquakes in the XVII and XVIII centuries led to the destruction of the main part of the fortress. The ruins of the fortress and the church tower stand majestically on the edge of a high mountain, which gives the walk a special atmosphere.
At the entrance to the town, there are several public car parks, the easiest to park here, and the price is only 2 euros for the whole day. From this point, there is a short climb and you will find yourself in a small village with narrow streets and stunning views. In order to get to the old part of town, which is the part we are most interested in, you have to go through an 8 metre tunnel cut into the rock. It is simply impossible to get lost here. On the territory of the fortress there are a lot of cafes and restaurants for every taste and purse (but you should keep in mind that they mostly work until 16:00-18:00). And from the main square there are fantastic views of the mountains and the reservoir - a large lake with emerald colour.
Algar waterfalls(Las Fuentes del Algar)
Algar means "cave" in Arabic, a grotto that has been carved by water over thousands of years. A very popular tourist destination 1 hour from Alicante and 27 minutes from Guadalesta. It is a natural park, walking through which you will find many large and small waterfalls, which in turn form rivers and pools. All this, surrounded by a large amount of vegetation, enhances the feeling of belonging to nature, relaxing and at the same time inviting you to swim in these waters. These pools are especially good on hot summer days - the cool waters are very refreshing and the diving jumps make swimming even more interesting. Children especially enjoy this activity.
Even though this is a nature park, the route is limited and you can only follow the authorised paths and swim in the designated areas. But that's more than enough - you have a choice of how to spend your day: you can take a 1.5 kilometre leisurely walk along the riverbed and climb up the mountainside, where you'll find magnificent panoramic views. Alternatively, you can walk along the trail for a while, take a swim, and then continue along the trail. Or just spend the whole day in these pools, coming out only to have lunch and take a couple of photos.
There is a medical centre, toilets, restaurants and picnic areas. But food is not allowed in the park itself, for safety and cleanliness reasons. If you decide to take food with you, it would be better to leave it in the car and when it's time for a snack, go and get it.
Where to park my car at Algar Falls?
As always, a very important topic of concern to many people. There are several options: free parking near the Tourist Info Balcó d'Algar, but it is small and 700 metres from the entrance to the waterfalls. A very good option if you arrive before the park opens, in summer the waterfalls are open from 9:00 to 20:00. At this time is definitely not crowded, and accordingly, and a place for parking will be easy to find. But mostly those who come to the waterfalls want to have a rest and not to bother. That's why they go further - to the entrance to the park.
Here, at the very beginning, there are several paid parking areas along the road, where the car park attendants are beckoning. From our experience, it is better not to listen to them and drive a little further down the road, at the top there will be a car park, also paid, but it is more convenient, and not far from the picnic area. The cost of the car park is 3-5 euros. The entrance to the public natural pools of Algar itself is also inexpensive, only 5 euros per person.
DinoPark Algar
Very close to the waterfalls (only 1 km) there is a very interesting theme park Dinopark. This park has existed for more than 20 years, and is constantly being improved, so that small visitors (and not only) have an interesting and informative time, studying and looking at the proposed expositions. There is a great variety of cacti growing here! And among them you can see dinosaurs that move and make different sounds! And everything looks quite realistic.
The Dino Park covers an area of 50,000 square metres and there are many different species of plants and trees besides cacti. A tour of the park takes from 1 to 2 hours. And if you are with small children, even more - there is a small children's pool where kids can splash around, while parents can relax in the cafe and have a cool drink. Even though it's very hot in the summer and there's not much shade from the trees, this park is well worth a visit. There is free parking near the park, which is great, picnic areas, cafes and restaurants.
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