The Ascent to Benicadell

Benicadell (1104m) is the tallest peak in the Benicadell Mountain Range in the south of Valencia province. We went for a 14km hike following a mostly circular route and we even did some scrambling to reach the peak. The views from the mountain are incredible and you can see both Valencia and Alicante province.

We started in Beniatjar and soon entered the forest. The path zig-zags for the majority of the forest trail and we had great vistas of the fields and mountains in the distance from the gaps between the trees.

We came out of the forest to a parking and recreation area. The main amusement here was various members of the group helping to push a car down the hill. From the recreation area, the track became wider and less steep as it followed the western face of the mountain.

To get to the summit, we left the wide path for a single track trail. Although it was quite muddy, due to the recent rains, the track was quite easy to follow as once again it zig-zagged. Before we got to the peak, we took a short detour along a rocky path to a nevera. Common to Valencia, a nevera is a snow well that was used to store ice long before freezers were invented. There was no snow but the depth of the well was still impressive.

We turned back to the main trail to get to the peak. The majority of the path is stones however for the ascent to the actual peak we had to scramble the last 150m. The scrambling part was easy and very fun though.

At the summit, we were rewarded with brilliant views. The Seirra Benicadell forms a natural border between Valencia and Alicante provinces. From the peak we could see la Vall d’Albaida on one side and Comtat on the other. We could also see further to Denia and the Alicante coastline. At the peak we enjoyed lunch and a bit more scrambling before returning the way we came to re-join the wide gravel road.

We completed the circuit via a mixture of gravel roads and trails. On the trail going down, we found mushrooms and the ruins of a house that we explored. We soon arrived at the end of the trail and we walked past some orange groves to get back to the village.

The ascent to Benicadell was an enjoyable hike and scrambling to the peak made it even more fun. The views all the way up were great and they were especially impressive at the peak.

If you would like to follow in our footsteps, our route can be found here on Wikiloc.