A walking route

This walking route guides us through the “Paraje de El Molinar” in Alcoy. It is located on the outskirts of the city, in the ravine of the same name. The name comes from the old flour and paper mills that used spring water to power their machinery.

How to get to El Molinar

First of all, when you are in Alcoy you must go to the roadside shop “Nueva Saltera” and leave the car there. About 50 meters away there is an informative sign that shows the beginning of the route to El Molinar.

The walking route

The beginning of the walking route along El Molinar leads down a forest track not suitable for cars, so it is perfectly safe walking there.

The first things we will discover are two white houses where the wells that collect water from the aquifer are. Then we find the great building that contains the spring, under a bridge of recent construction.

This modernist construction dates from 1914 and was the work of local architect José Abad Carbonell. It looks very nice from the outside, unfortunately, it is closed to the public. This building is part of the route of modernist buildings in Alcoy, which we describe in a previous blog. Click here to read it.

The water of the Molinar was channeled in 1421 and supplies the city ever since. Nowadays 60% of the water consumed in Alcoy comes from this spring.

Next, we keep on walking under the bridge and advance towards the remains of the old flour and paper factories. On the way, we see the retaining wall where the water comes out and the remains of the first dam that was built.

Walking forward we see an old aqueduct that is currently used as a bridge to cross from one side to the other. Below it there is a small fountain that collects water from the spring.

Only the facades remain of some of the factories like El Molí Nou del Ferro and El Molí Vell del Ferro. The factory of Els Solers is the one in the best state of the entire area. It preserves the complete structure with the chimney and the roof.

The waterfall

After this, we come to a waterfall and it makes it impossible to continue. Therefore, we go back to take the path that we left to our left that makes us gain altitude and we can look at the factories from above.

Afterward, a small path on the right takes us to the remains of the Octavio Reig Factory and the Molí de la Figuera. There is a large fig tree at the entrance. For those who want to enter any of the factories, we advise being very careful. As these factories are abandoned there is no way to know in what state they are or if you may be hurt.

The route continues along the course of the river with the remains of a small hermitage to the left. Although only the facade remains, it still is a beautiful structure.

From there the path that leads to the rest of the paper mills on both sides of the river. Some of them even keep the old mill wheels. At sunset, this route offers spectacular views to make some great photos.

After visiting the last factory we recommend visiting the city of Alcoy and enjoy this wonderful city while you can.