With its hiking trails
Today we spend a day in Ondara. This town is located at only 36 meters above sea level near the Valley of La Alberca. For that reason, the municipality has strategic importance that goes back to Roman times. They found a necropolis as proof of that, in the area of the vineyards.
There is a traditional link to the Marquesado de Dénia and the Moorish inhabitants left the village uninhabited in 1609. The town had ties with the side of the Austrias during the War of Succession. The old town center with its narrow streets makes us feel as if we were in the Moorish era. There are some interesting monuments to see in the village. Such as the 16th century Church of Santa Ana, the Clock Tower, and the House of the Mayorazgo.
How to get to Ondara?
This village lays next to the AP-7 Toll motorway and the N-332. Both roads mark the exits clearly on the side of the roadside. Therefore it is easy to get there.
When you use public transport, you can either use the inter-local bus service ALSA that stops near the town. Or you can use the Tram-via line 9 from Benidorm to Dénia. However, You have to step on the local bus at the end stop of the tram-via.
What can we see in Ondara?
The Church of Santa Ana
This building, built in the second half of the sixteenth century, stands out for not having a defined style. It has ornamental elements typical of the classical language and has been recently rehabilitated. Each Holy Week the septenary of the Dolores de la Virgen is performed. It is a religious choir singing performed for more than a century.
House of the Mayorazgo
At the corner of Sol street and Dénia street, it is a great historical building. They declared this building an Asset of Cultural Interest. Even after restoration, it retains its Moorish peephole. As well as the architectural personality of its large front as an old fortified palace.
El Prado
This Congress and Events Center is located in the town center of Ondara. The combination of the architecture and the constructive beauty make this building one of the largest in the Alicante province. An area characterized by its high functionality and the simplicity of its design. Together with its magnificent location in the very center of the urban area.
Clock tower
The tower was built in a Muslim style and was recognized as a Historic Monument in 1996. It is located in the Plaza Mayor and is the only tower that remains standing. The only one of the four that had the ancient Muslim castle of Ondara had. It is striking that even today it continues to operate manually. With an impressive mechanism that is taken care of every day by the town’s bailiff.
Town hall
The municipality of Ondara is an old stately building, from the early seventeenth century. They built this former Franciscan convent on a plot donated by the Marquis of Guadalest.
The Laundry
It was built in the middle of the 19th century and recreates the traditions of this town. It also stands out for its ethnographic value because its main use has been relegated over time.
Font de la Carxofa
They built this spring at the end of the last century as a symbol for the people of Sonora. It got buried in the seventies of the last century and recovered in 1983. Its history was characterized by the functionality for the supply of drinking water to the municipality.
Solitude Convent
A building from the 17th century. It is the convent where the Virgin of Solitude is guarded. This sacred image is important to the town citizens and for the local religious festivities.
Trekking
The circular hiking trail Segària – Cova Fosca
We find the start of this 8,5-kilometer trail at the Segària public park, that surrounds the Sierra de Segària. There are two variants, the Beniarbeig Portet and the Segària triangulation point. It stretches from the parking lot of the Segària recreational complex in a west direction through an old irrigation canal. A little further it crosses a path that leads to a water system, consisting of two wells and a trough. From here on it crosses the CV 109 to the television transmitter and continues to the Iberian settlement. After this, the trail continues along the northern slope until it reaches the Catalá Fountain and skirting the north face. From this point, we reach the Krástico compilation (Morro de les coves, Cova Fosca) and can continue to the starting point.
Segària Triangulation Point
We depart from Segària public park and use the Route to the balcony of Segària at a distance of 1.6 kilometers. This trail parts from the parking lot over a steep slope to the top of the port of Ondara. From there on it leads to the highest part of the Sierra de Segària. Here we find triangulation point Nr. 79640 belongs to the National Geographic Institute and is located at a height of 507.89 meters above sea level.
Segària Cova de Bolumini – Portet de Beniarbeig
With a departure from the Route to the Segària south or Segària Norte pass and with a distance of 2.6 kilometers. It parts from the same place as the circular trail. It follows the irrigation channel to the path that begins to climb the southern slope until it reaches the Bolumini cave. A few meters further there is a cave and afterward it climbs up to the port of Beniarbeig. From there it goes down the northern part until it joins the circular path.
What to eat in Ondara?
In addition to the tour, the streets of Ondara one should also try to enjoy the local food as well. For example typical dishes such as “Cocas”, a sort of breadcake made of corn flour with tomato, egg, and tuna.
Another local specialty is “Torrat de Musola”, shark meat with eggplant, pepper, and onion roasted in a wood oven.
During a visit to the town of Costa Blanca eating a rice dish is almost a must. In Ondara you should try the “Caldera de pescado con Arroz a banda”, a stew of local fish with rice. It is a real delight!
You can also buy “Raïmet de pastor” in brine. This small plant grows along the Valencian coast and they say it has medicinal properties. It is used a lot as a condiment in different types of salads.
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