L'Albir Lighthouse Trail

The L'Albir lighthouse stands at the tip of the Serra Gelada Natural Park, reached by an easy paved trail along the cliffs above the bay of Altea. According to visitalbir.com the walk takes about an hour, and it is also doable with a pushchair. The 1863 lighthouse houses a small interpretation centre with old photos and equipment.

A paved coastal path leads from L'Albir to the lighthouse at the tip of the Serra Gelada Natural Park. The trail starts at the park information point, next to a car park, and from there on it is open only to walkers and cyclists. According to visitalbir.com the route is about 4.5 km and takes roughly an hour, while andoyreando.com gives 2.5 km each way. The lighthouse came into service on 30 April 1863 and still works today, now automated and solar-powered. Since 2011 it has housed a small interpretation centre with old photographs and lighthouse equipment. Next to it stands the Torre Bombarda, a tower several centuries older than the lighthouse, once used to guard against Barbary pirates and smugglers. Along the way you pass information panels on the park's history and nature, tunnels cut into the rock and a side path to old ochre mines. The trail looks across the bay of Altea with the Peñón de Ifach in the background, and the Serra Gelada cliffs rise more than 300 metres here. Visitors praise the well-kept surface and the views all the way, and one reviewer says it takes about half an hour each way from the park entrance. One visitor writes that, if you are really lucky, you may see a pod of dolphins in the bay. There is no shade on the trail, so bring water, a hat and sunscreen. At sunset the area around the lighthouse offers a view of the sun going down behind the Puig Campana peak. The path is suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs, and dogs are allowed on a lead. For keener hikers the park also marks longer routes, such as the one to the repeater mast (about 7 km) and the Seven Peaks route along Serra Gelada (about 22 km there and back).