La Font de Partegat and La Font del Moli: a circular route from Benifato

This well-known trail is usually walked from Font del Moli to Font de Partegat. However, at Font del Moli there is only space to park 4 or 5 cars, which quickly becomes a problem, especially during the high season. For this reason, it is preferable to park at Font de Partegat.

The starting point for this hike is at Font de Partegat. To get to this starting point by car, see the ‘Practical Information’ section below.

(S/E) From the car park, start by heading towards the buildings to see the Font de Partegat. It is at the foot of a stone wall. Retrace your steps and take the wide dirt track that climbs uphill: it is signposted “Sender de la Serra Benimantell 6.52 km PR®-CV 464”.

(1) Take the path on the left, following the sign for "Sender de la Serra Benimantell 6.52 km PR®-CV 464".

(2) At a fork in the road (signpost), take the path on the right. Note the towering cliffs and the terraced fields.

(3) Pass in front of the Corral del Soliguer and continue straight on (east). At a Fork in the road, keep right to reach a pass called El Malpasset.

(4) Then turn left and immediately right (north-east). Ignore a path coming from the left. Then turn left to head north-west. Reach a junction.

(5) Then turn right.

(6) At the next junction, turn sharply left.

(7) Walk past the Font del Moli car park and head north along the road to see the water flow on the left.

(8) Retrace your steps.

(7) and at the sign for Font del Moli, turn right to go and see it. At the foot of the cliff face, you can see a building marked ‘Font del Moli’ with a closed metal door and, on the left, the fountain itself with a lion’s head from which a little water flows. Its name comes from the fact that there used to be a mill nearby, the Moli d’Ondara, which produced flour for the village. Indeed, through an irrigation system, the water was used not only to power the mill but also to supply water to the fields for various crops. The distribution of water was regulated by a set of rules dating from 1850.

(9) Retrace your steps.

(7) Turn right and follow the route in the opposite direction to the outward journey.

(6) Turn sharply right. Ignore a path on the right and you will soon reach a junction you passed earlier.

(5) Take the path on the right. The signpost indicating the direction has fallen to the ground: it points to Els Penyonets 0.75 km and Clot de la Nau 0.61 km. You will reach a large circular hole, Els Pou de Neu, i.e. an old snow well that was used to make ice. The snow was piled up and stacked. It was built at the end of the 18th century and has a capacity of around 300 cubic metres of ice. In the Aitana area, around thirty such structures have been built since 1580, as ice became a major economic activity until the early 20th century. The snow pits of Aitana supplied the areas between Alicante and Gandia.

(10) Continue along the path and note a beautiful viewpoint on the right. You will soon reach the hamlet of Els Penyonets, where two huge rocks flank the path. You will come to an old house.

(11) Continue straight on along the path.

(12) At the next junction, turn left.

(2) At the junction you took at the start of the walk, continue along the same route (west-north-west).

(1) Follow the road to the right to return to the car park where you started (S/E).

Make sure you bring enough water. At La Font de Partegat and La Font del Moli there is a picnic area with tables and benches.

For information, the rating established by the French Hiking Federation (FFR) is as follows: IBP = 50, length = 9.6 kilometres and elevation gain = 458 metres. (These figures may differ from those given by Visorando; in this case, always use the higher figures to get an idea of the hike’s difficulty).

Driving directions to La Font de Partegat. First, head to Benifato via the CV70 road and, from there, to La Font de Partegat (be careful not to follow certain sat-navs, which lead elsewhere). Coming from Benimantel on the CV70, at kilometre 29, you will see a sign for CV70/Confrides/Alcoi and, on the left, CV-7681 Benifato: take this left turn, which indicates that Benifato is 0.5 km away.
Just before the sign marking the entrance to Benifato, turn right (you will see ‘Font de Partegat’ on the wall and a sign for ‘Font de Tudos’ 13.8 km away).
Then follow this road. At three successive junctions, keep right following the natural course of the road (ignore the road on the left). At another junction, keep left (ignore the road leading off to the right). The road ends. You have arrived at a place called La Font de Partegat and should park in the car park on the left. For your information, the journey by car from Alicante is approximately 80 kilometres and takes around 1 hour 15 minutes.

Note: the Font del Moli referred to here is the one near Benimantell, as there is another Font del Moli near Finestrat, so do not confuse the two.

Both springs, as well as providing water for people, also served as watering holes for livestock.