The road from Salt to Santa Pola

The starting point for this hike is on Calle de Lérida in Santa Pola (see the practical information section).

This route is recommended by the Santa Pola Tourist Office (under the name PR®-CV 61) and is located in a protected natural area, so please stay on the marked paths and respect the environment.

(S/E) Go up Calle de Lérida, cross the two main roads carefully and follow them to the right. You will soon come to a small dirt track that branches off to the left.

(1) You will come to the remains of an old lime kiln: the calera. Lime was widely used in agriculture to enrich the soil or on the facades of houses. You will reach the Calera mill. It was built in 1771 and was used to grind grain. It has two doors facing north and south to warn of the danger of the rotating blades and, depending on the direction of the wind, one or the other blade was used.

(2) Continue along the path and you will soon come to a paved road on your right. Shortly after, this paved road turns into a wide, flat dirt track. Follow this track patiently, continuing straight ahead.

(3) At the fork, ignore the path on the right, which will be the return route, and continue straight ahead until the next fork.

(4) Leave the path and take the one on the right, then immediately turn left and a little further on, when you see a marker with the number 3, take the path on the right. When you see the ruins of a house in front of you, leave the path and go to the right (into the countryside) to see the aljibe de las perdices. The name comes from Arabic and refers to a kind of cistern or water reservoir. It dates from the 19th century and was used until around the 1950s.

(5) Retrace your steps to find the path and pass in front of the ruins.

(6) Continue along a path that goes to the left, then turn right.

(7) You will arrive in a residential area of Gran Alacant and take the street on the right (Calle de Finlandia). This is an area where many Europeans have second homes. Stay on the pavement on the right.

(8) When you arrive opposite number 43 (on the left), turn right into the open field. Continue along this dirt track uphill.

(9) When you come to the fork, take the left-hand road.

(10) At the signpost, go 2 m to the right to see the second aljibe, the one belonging to Salt. Continue along the path: you are now on the Senda del Salt, which follows the Barranc del Salt (and thus gives this hike its name).

(11) At the signpost, take the path on the left. Follow it, keeping the Barranc del Salt below you. Feel free to leave the path and go to the left to get a better view of the ravine, but be careful.

(12) Be careful to leave the path at this point and take the path on the right until the next fork.

(13) Take the path on the right and you will come to a crossroads.

(14) Turn left and follow the path until you reach a road that leads to the Santa Pola lighthouse. Cross it and continue to the next fork.

(15) Turn right. There is still a long and somewhat tedious flat road to cover before arriving at a section you passed on the way there.

(3) Turn left and follow this section of road in the opposite direction to return to the car park (S/E).

Access by car:
Take the N-332, which runs along the coast. Follow the signs for Santa Pola. Then take the CV-8520 towards Santa Pola. Take the first right, Calle de Lérida, and park there.
For information, it is about 18 km from Alicante by car, taking around 20 minutes.

This hike can be done without any problems in shorts (no need for hiking trousers) but with hiking boots. It should also be noted that you will be exposed to the sun at all times, so be sure to bring plenty of water.