Bike & Family - Xàbia

Xàbia-Port-Cala Blanca

etapa para todos
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Xàbia-Port-Cala Blanca

The route we'll describe below is a combination of two other routes known as "Ruta Tarraula" and "Ruta familiar Port-Cala Blanca" and designed by Jávea/Xàbia's Department of Tourism. If you need more information about these and ten other routes with different levels of difficulty. 

We'll start our day by the tourist information office next to Jávea/Xàbia's promenade. The first metres of the route will take us through a pedestrian area in La Marina Española Avenue where bikes are allowed. However, we should not forget that pedestrians have preference there. In a few minutes, we'll come across a roundabout in Lepanto Avenue and we'll cross the zebra crossing on foot to get to the bridge over the Gorgos River, which we'll use to reach the bike lane on the other side. This bike lane runs parallel to the Avenida del Mediterráneo road (CV-739) and is very nice to ride on, since it's completely flat and offers an amazing view of the sea, which will help us get to the Canal de la Fontana almost without noticing. At this point, after having covered 2.3 kilometres since we started the route, we'll turn right on a road that runs parallel to the canal. If we have little children with us, though, it might be a good idea to go to the beach of Las Arenas instead. This beach is famous for the quality of its water and the atmosphere generated by the shops and restaurants around it. After this, we can go back through the same bike lane we used before.

As we said, we'll turn right instead and we'll start to ride away from the coast gradually. This way, through roads flanked by palm trees and crops, we'll arrive at the Camí de Cabanes, a road where we'll have to exercise caution and watch out for cars. About 100 metres later, we'll get to the Camino de les Cansalades road. This is an uphill paved road that will lead us into a Mediterranean pine forest. We'll leave this road exactly after the 7th kilometre of the route by turning right onto Calle Lago Tana, and then we'll continue through Calle Lago Banern first and Lago Tanganyka later. At this point, we'll find a small recreational area where we can stop for a while if we've brought food and drinks with us. Once we've finished and regained our strength, we'll turn left onto Camino Sabatera and we'll keep going straight ahead through Calle del Lago Aral, where we'll join a dirt road in a beautiful area flanked by pine trees.

Before we reach the Camino Cansalades road (CV-747), we'll turn right onto Calle Lago Ladoga. After only 500 metres we'll turn right again onto Calle Lago Saima and, 400 metres later, we'll turn left to enter a dirt road (Calle Lago Eire) that will take us back to Camino Sabatera. We'll turn left again to get to the road to Benitatxel (CV-740). Due to the amount of traffic on this road, we'll really have to exercise caution when crossing it. If we're feeling very tired, this can be a good point to cut the route short, since this road leads to the Gorgos riverbed, which is where we are headed anyway. By doing this, we would avoid the last two ascents in the route. However, if we choose this option, we'll need to have some experience with riding in road traffic.

If we stick to the original plan, we'll cross the CV-740 road and, after 150 metres and a mild uphill slope, we'll turn right onto Calle Rosalía de Castro and we'll keep going through Calle Pío Baroja. This road ends in quite an enjoyable and fun dirt road that even children of an average skill level can ride on without any problems. If we're not used to this kind of terrain, though, and we'd rather not take any risks, it's good to remember that this section is only 200 metres long, so we won't spend much time on it even if we have to complete it on foot. After we finish this part, we'll reach the Camí Vell de Teulada road and, not long after, the Camí Terraula, which is the road that the route is named after and the starting point of the hardest climb of the day. This ascent includes two different summits: the first one, shortly before the 14th kilometre of the route; and the second one, about 500 metres later. After the second summit, we'll go down to the Gorgos river and we'll ride along its bed. We'll have to cross over from one side to the other a few times before we arrive back at Jávea/Xàbia. The only remark we'd like to make about this part of the road is that we'll have to be careful with traffic both when we get to the roundabout we'll find in the road to Benitatxel and when we reach the 15.5 kilometre point of the route, since we'll start getting closer to town and we'll need to respect traffic regulations, give way to pedestrians, etc.

By then, we'll have finished a very well-rounded route through the coast, the mountains and the croplands, in which we'll have faced some demanding climbs and we'll have proved our skills on the two sections of the road that we mentioned before. If, after all this, we decide to have some ice cream, go for a drink or try some of Jávea/Xàbia's excellent local food, we'll surely feel like coming back at some point to follow the rest of the routes that this town has to offer.

 


Curiosities

What to see

Apart from its excellent beaches, Jávea/Xàbia has a really well preserved old town that includes a remarkable number of stately homes. However, one of the most popular attractions in Jávea/Xàbia is the "Ruta de los Miradores de Jávea/Xàbia", together with the "Ruta dels Riuraus".

And, of course, a visit to the Montgó Nature Reserve is a must.

What to eat

The best way to find out about Jávea/Xàbia's gastronomy is through the town's official website. One of the most important characteristics of Jávea/Xàbia's cuisine is that it reflects the local culture, closely related to both the sea and the huerta (the agricultural land in the area). It's because of this that we'll find dishes that combine different kinds of seafood, commercialised under the certification mark "Pescado y marisco de la bahía de Xàbia" (Fish and shellfish from Jávea/Xàbia's bay), with legumes, rice, cereals, spices like saffron and nora peppers and dried fruits such as figs, tomatoes and raisins. The result of this combination is tapas like esgarrat (a red pepper and cod salad), cocas (savoury pastries), snails, "capellans" (poor cod), boiled green beans and sang amb ceba (pig's blood with onions), as well as some stews like putxero (meatball stew), the polp amb penca (octopus and cardoons), the madroc (cod, cauliflower and potato stew), borreta (fish, potato and nora pepper stew) y la fava pelada (peeled green bean stew).

Did you know?

There is a millenary olive tree in Jávea/Xàbia, located by the base of the Montgó mountain. History has it that it was planted in 1023, when Jávea/Xàbia was a Muslim hamlet. The tree trunk is admirable for its huge size and its gnarled shape. It's completely hollow and it features many big roots, most of which are dry and cracked. It's pruned regularly and it has been grafted with three different varieties of olives .