Albalat Dels Taronchers: Hiking, Archaeology and Architecture

Albalat Dels Taronchers offers several practical starting points for planning a trip: hiking trails with different focuses, archaeological sites and historic buildings. When looking for a hotel, you can first decide whether hiking routes, archaeological history or architecture should be the main focus of your stay. The landscape and festival dates may also shape your plans.

Hiking trails and specific route details

The PR-CV 318 hiking trail starts and ends in Albalat Dels Taronchers. Its estimated duration is 4 hours and 47 minutes, and its total length is 13,618 metres. It also has a net elevation change of 335 metres and a cumulative elevation gain of 780 metres. These two elevation figures describe different measurements and can therefore be considered as separate planning factors. Together with the duration and route length, they provide a specific time and distance framework for the hike.

SL-CV 85 is an officially approved circular hiking trail that includes the archaeological sites of Les Raboses and La Murta-El Palmeral. The two trails therefore have different emphases: the PR-CV 318 focuses on time, distance and elevation figures, while the SL-CV 85 links a circular route with archaeological sites. This comparison can help you choose between measurable trail details and an archaeological focus.

Archaeology: different periods

The sites are associated with different periods. La Cova de l’Aigua Amarga features rock paintings from the Eneolithic period, dated to 2000 BC. Les Raboses is a Bronze Age site, dated to the period between 1600 and 100 BC. These sites thus bring together evidence from different prehistoric periods.

Castellet de Comediana adds a medieval site dating from the 12th to the 15th century to this archaeological focus. If you are interested in chronology, the sites mentioned here span the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages through to the Middle Ages.

El Palau and L’església

El Palau was built in the 14th or 15th century and retains features of a noble house, including fortified towers with battlements. The building comprises a semi-basement with numerous pointed and round arches, as well as three floors containing the rooms of a noble house. These rooms include stables, an oil mill, a ballroom and living quarters. The different types of rooms give the building a varied architectural character.

The present-day L’església was built between 1796 and 1803. The Neoclassical building has a dome and four pendentives decorated with biblical motifs. Its façade also features a stained-glass window depicting the Immaculate Conception by Joaquim Michavila, as well as a bell tower. The building’s history also includes a discovery beneath the church: during foundation repairs in 1988, a burial crypt containing bone remains and a large quantity of ceramics was found. El Palau and L’església therefore offer different ways to compare architectural forms and historical periods.

Landscape and festival dates

The municipality extends partly into the Serra Calderona Natural Park and partly along the Palancia River and its valley. Turó del Cavall, also known as Cavall Pelut, is a flora micro-reserve within the municipality. A named natural area and the riverside landscape thus complement the themes of hiking, archaeology and architecture.

The Sant Antoni festival is held on 16 and 17 January. On Saint Anthony’s Day, animals and the municipality are blessed; a large bonfire is lit in the village square, where people traditionally gather to eat roasted sausages. The traditional August festivities take place on 15, 16 and 17 August: they honour the Verge Maria d’Agost, Sant Roc and the Divina Pastora, respectively. The programme includes, among other events, La Volta a Peu, processions, a mascletà, a Truc tournament, masses, calderas, the traditional poalà, correfocs and bull events. If you are planning your trip around one of these dates, check the festival dates and programme in advance.

Discover more destinations: Llosa De Ranes, Benicolet, L'olleria, Paterna, Carlet, Marines, Jaraguas, Novelé

For the broader travel overview: Valencia.