Sierra de Aitana Trek

Take spectacular ridge walks amid the limestone towers and rural landscapes of the Aitana Massif

Although close to the Costa Blanca, the dramatic massif of Sierra de Aitana has remained a secret from all but a few discerning visitors. We follow traditional footpaths and mule tracks, mostly along ridge lines, for spectacular panoramas, and then descend to beautiful valleys with natural springs and limestone amphitheatres. The rocky peaks and steep valleys that sweep down to the Mediterranean coast benefit from a warm climate for more than 300 days a year, making this an ideal location for out-of-season walking.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
• We visit a brewery and olive press, both of which are run by local families.
• Read more about our other initiatives here.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for reusable bottles.
• With our partners, Rewilding Apennines, we rewild 100 square meters (1,075 sqft) of land per passenger who travels with us.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• We use public transport on one of the days of this trip to reduce our carbon footprint.
• Walking trips like this have very little detrimental impact on the environment and local people, as it is a quiet, low impact activity requiring comparatively few resources to support.
• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring a reusable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Is this trip for you?

This trip has been rated Activity Level 4 (Moderate & Challenging). For more information on our trip gradings please visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.

This trip includes 4 challenging walks out of the 5 included. You should be confident in your physical condition and ability to deal with heights, rocky and difficult underfoot terrain. The walking routes are all fairly long (around 9mi-12mi/15km-20km a day) and vary in duration from seven hours to 8hr 30min per day (including stops). In five days of walking we climb three summits: Serrella (4,465ft/1,361m), Puig Campana (4,626ft/1,410m) and Aitana (5,112ft/1,558m) with approximately 3,280ft (1,000m) of ascent and descent on each of these days.

Most of the paths we follow are footpaths and mule tracks. Some sections are with a gentle gradient, while others follow quite steep rocky paths (sometimes with scree slopes) and there are some sustained ascents/descents. We also trek some cross-country terrain.

This trip is for anyone confident in their health and fitness. It is not recommended as a beginner’s trek. It is suited for those who regularly hill walk and have put in some physical preparation beforehand. However it is also possible to stay at hotel and do your own walks or other activities from there.

Sierra de Aitana is very rich in flora and fauna and along the walks we will see a great variety of birds and flowers. Castles dot distant hilltops, and we visit springs and snow wells as well as having plenty of time to soak up village life. In the evenings the hosts of our characterful family-run village pension will make us feel right at home.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

Spain

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus and rabies. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

Visa

Spain

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Spain. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/spain
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/spain
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain/entry-requirements
• USA:  www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Spain.html

Food & Drink

All breakfasts, five lunches and six dinners (plus local wine with dinner, one bottle per three people) are included.

Breakfast: Continental style – local seasonal fruit, orange juice, different types of bread, cakes, cheese, ham, or bacon and eggs on request every day. Tea and coffee.

Lunch: Picnic lunches will usually consist of bread rolls (our famous whole wheat triple deckers) with cheese and salad/meat, fruit, muesli bars, biscuits or nuts, and a juice carton. Our local guide usually also provides some snacks such as pickled olives, chocolates and dried figs.

Evening meal: As the main meal of the day, we enjoy a large variety of local cuisine including espencat, minxos (small pancakes)  legume soups, roasted lamb, and  of  course  local paella . Most of the food is freshly prepared from locally grown seasonal produce, and the pension produce their own olive oil. A reasonable amount of local wine is provided with the evening meal but additional beverages are not included.

Mealtimes in Spain are later than in many other countries; dinner is usually between 8pm and 9.30pm.

Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets are well catered for given prior notice, and most other dietary requirements can also be accommodated if you let us know in advance (at the time of booking). Please note we cant guarantee any dietary requests made on arrival.

Please note, should flights change to arrive earlier, or depart later, additional meals are not included. Please also note that no refund will be given for meals not taken or taken other than where designated.

Weather

This area is known to have the most benign climate in the whole of Europe. Winter is mild and sunny, with more than 300 days of sunshine a year. At night, temperatures can be chilly, especially in the mountains. The little rainfall is usually concentrated in very few days at the beginning of autumn, but rain cannot be discounted on any departure.

The daytime temperatures in winter usually vary between 14C and 20C (57F and 68F) depending on altitude and orientation. These winter temperatures are ideal for walking although, except for July and August, you can walk here year round. In spring and autumn, temperatures should be between 25C and 30C (77F and 86F) but May, June and September departures may experience some warmer days, up to 35C (95F).