From the font turn up the initially concrete track to pass a house guarded by a large Buddha among the trees by its gate and immediately afterwards, at a four way junction, carry on up the hill and 100 metres later come to a sign on the left to the Font del Rull. A flight of restored stone steps climbs the few metres to the font, which is little more than a black iron door over the old cistern.
Continue up the hill for a little under 10mins to where it meets a dirt road on the left signed to Barranc de l’Aigua. Turn left onto this but after just a couple of dozen paces turn right by a cairn onto a narrow path heading off downhill with the Bernia in front. It traverses round a large bowl across gentle slopes until it turns a corner and broken cliffs and sharp summits come into view with a grand, newly-built house in the valley below. Follow the path as it winds down to it. Across the barranc from the house are the Font d’Aixa climbing crags and teams are often to be seen on the routes.
Carry on down the concrete access road of the house until, on a bend, as you pass another house on the left, a track marked with yellow and white paint goes off leftwards across the hill. Follow it until it comes to a junction and here turn sharply back right down to a road and turn right. This dogleg can be avoided by staying on the concrete road to reach the same spot but the path is more pleasant underfoot.
The road now passes houses and orange groves and a sign pointing right to Pedreguer per Aspres. This is the onward route but it is worth continuing a couple of hundred metres further to visit Font d’Aixa, one of the larger pools in the area. From there go back to the ‘Aspres’ sign and turn up the concrete track which passes a casita and quickly dwindles to a footpath. Keep climbing until it reaches a fairly long level section and about 20mins after leaving the road comes to a fork. Take the left branch, which continues to climb and traverse until after a few minutes it comes to another concrete road with a sign ‘Pedreguer per Poets 3km’.
Turn up this and in less than 5mins come to a right hand bend where a sign points leftwards to Castell d’Aixa. Go up this path and where it comes to olive groves at the top of the first slope there is a T-junction of paths. Turn right, passing a tumbledown casita and following yellow and white paint as it traverses round the bowl. Ignore a path dropping leftwards.
As it continues Montgo and the colourful villas seen earlier reappear. When it reaches a junction turn right signed to Pedreguer. The town is now visible at the foot of the Barranc dels Poets, whose name refers to wells rather than versifiers. At a three-way junction carry on downhill to Pedreguer and at the next junction turn left guided by ample paint marks to arrive back in the car park.
WALK 5
Castell d’Aixa
| Start/finish | Font d’Aixa |
| Distance | 10km |
| Grade | Moderate |
| Time | 3hrs 30mins to 4hrs |
| Terrain | Limestone paths and a high, easy ridge |
| Height gain | 490m |
| Map | IGN Pedreguer |
| Access | Leave the N332 on the CV 750 to Xalo and after 4km take a narrow road on the right signed to Lliber. Follow it to the village where it emerges on the main road at a tricky exit where you turn right for 100 metres and then left on the CV 748 to Gata de Gorgos. After 3.8km, opposite a large white house, turn left onto the Camino Font d’Aixa, which winds between houses and on for another 2.5km to the pool of the Font. |
| Parking | By the font. |
Little remains of the old fortress of Castell d’Aixa sitting high upon its ridge but that is no reason to shun a visit. This route follows a steep path to a col below the castle and returns via a high ridge with fine views to the coast and inland mountains, as well as over the Vall de Pop.
From the parking area by the Font d’Aixa carry on forwards following yellow and white markings. After about 100 metres look out for a turning to the left where the path begins to climb the hillside, following signs to Castell d’Aixa and Font de la Xima. At the next junction with a three way sign carry on climbing, following signs to the Castell.
Castell d'Aixa rises above the orange groves
The path goes up steeply until it reaches a band of rock where it climbs rightwards up a narrow shelf and passes below a fallen boulder before regaining the open hillside and soon afterwards breasts the ridge to open up excellent views across the valley to the castle ruins perched on the rocky summit opposite. From the col the path traverses the hillside making for another col at the head of the valley with views down into the Vall de Pop and across to a pair of dramatic shark’s fin ridges on the opposite hillside below the castle. Now turn rightwards up the broken limestone slope, the route still marked with yellow and white paint flashes.
The rock ramp climbing to the first col
At a fork take the lower right hand option which traverses the hillside before coming back leftwards through old terraces and walls to reach the summit of Castell d’Aixa. Crowned with a round concrete post, the summit is an ideal place for a refreshment stop to admire the wide-ranging views.
Leaving the summit, set off along the ridge with the isolated massif of Montgo directly ahead to the northeast. After about 150 metres look out for a cairn on the edge of the left hand slope and a path leading downwards. It initially heads back left before cutting back right aiming for the col between the summit and the next knoll on the ridge. It drops down an eroded section to a well, a surprising find at this altitude.
The path continues along the ridge line, by-passing subsidiary tops and passing another well before it drops down to the right with a long level section. As it drops again continue heading downwards with Montgo still ahead. At a crossroads of paths continue straight across and onwards past a ruin. At the next junction ignore a path heading downhill but continue ahead along a now much narrower path still marked with yellow and white paint. At the end of the ridge a sign points the way back right to Font d’Aixa. The path now heads back up the valley through old terraces aiming for a col. It then passes through an area of renovated terraces planted with olive trees. At the end of the restored terraces continue across the hillside, ignoring a path down to the left, and still aiming for the shallow col. Cross this and continue heading down leftwards aiming for a concrete road where you turn right downhill signed to Font d’Aixa.
After about 250 metres on a left hand bend a signpost points down the road to Font d’Aixa per Barranc de Aigua. Ignore this and instead take the path which heads rightwards away from the road. This is unmarked but is in fact part of the PR-V53 and leads to Font d’Aixa via Aspres. At first it runs horizontally across old terraces into the valley, whose skyline you have just walked before, dropping steeply downhill. It passes an old casita before becoming broader and then reaching the concrete road used on the approach. Turn right along this for a 200 metres to Font d’Aixa.
WALK 6
Tossal del Moro and the Serrillas
| Start/finish | Gata de Gorgos |
| Distance | 12km |
| Grade | Moderate |
| Time | 3 to 4hrs |
| Terrain | Good paths |
| Height gain | 470m |
| Map | Institut Cartografica Valencia, Pedreguer |
| Access | Gata de Gorgos is on the main N332, 20km north of Calp. As you enter the town from the south pass under a railway viaduct and park. |
| Parking | Roadside bays or an unmade car park. |
The hills around Gata de Gorgos are neither the highest nor the most dramatic of the Costa Blanca but that does not stop them providing very enjoyable walking. This walk begins in the gorge of the Riu Gorgos and climbs through gentle forests to a pair of summits offering excellent views and then a surprisingly wild climax as it returns to the town.
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