Safor Greenway Straight lines and orange blossom The La Safor Greenway with its long straight trail between orange groves is the best way to get to know the market gardens and orchards of southern Valencia, bordered by a maze of irrigation canals and redolent with the aroma of orange blossom. TECHNICAL DATA CONDITIONED GREENWAY Straight lines and orange blossom. LOCATION Between Gandía and Oliva VALENCIA Length: 7 km Users: Type of surface: Tarmac Natural setting: Marjal de Pego - Oliva Cultural heritage: Historic sites of Gandía and Oliva Infraestructure: 1 bridge. 2 underpasses and 1 overpass How to get there: Gandía: Renfe, suburban service línea Valencia-Gandía (*) please ask the conditions of bike admittance in Renfe trains Oliva: Autobús Empresa Ubesa Connections: Valencia: 73 Km. from Gandía Alicante: 98 Km. from Oliva Maps to use: Mapa Militar de España (Military Map of Spain): Scale 1:50.000. Sheet 796 Official road map of the Ministry of Public Works. Ministerio de Fomento More information on Guía de Vías Verdes volumen 1 DESCRIPTION Km. 0 / Km. 3 / Km. 7 Our route begins in Gandía, one of the most important cities of the southern Valencia market garden and orchard area, located on the final stretch of the river Serpis on its way down to the sea. The actual starting point is the Parc de l’Estaciò which, as its name indicates, is on the site of the former Gandía narrow gauge railway station and the present underground Renfe suburban railway station. This site, now reclaimed as an urban park, features the former station building and a semicircular arrangement of columns intended to evoke the old engine shed. One locomotive is on show next to the Tourist Office. Km 0 Opposite the Parc de l’Estaciò, the narrow Tossal street now runs where trains from Carcaixent used to continue their journey onwards to Denia. This is also the starting point for Sendero de Gran Recorrido (Long Trail) GR-236 known as the “Ruta de los Monasterios” (Route of the Monasteries) which, for the first stretch towards the village of Almoines, also makes use of the old railway route. Cyclists and walkers are provided with a dedicated tarmac path, separated from the rest of the traffic by a high kerb. Just 200m further on we reach the broad ravine carved by the river Serpis. Until 1996 this was as far as we could go along the former railway route since the old railway bridge had been dismantled at the same time the tracks were taken up. As part of the work to convert this route into a Greenway a spectacular concrete bridge was built, a more solid structure than the previous railway bridge, which elegantly spans the normally shallow waters of the river Serpis. Once across the broad river bed of the river Serpis, our beeline route takes us in a south- easterly direction. Some 300m further on we cross under a road (CV-671) which leads down to Grao de Gandía along the right bank of the Serpis. Once having climbed the gentle incline up from the underpass we find ourselves among what are to be our constant travelling companions: orange trees. The Greenway now follows a long, straight course which cuts boldly through the regular patchwork of orange groves. The orange groves are located in flatlands irrigated by a dense network of irrigation canals which distributes the scant water flowing in nearby rivers. At Km 1.5 we cross the first major irrigation canal, the Daimúz canal, by a modest bridge. Km 3 At Km 3, several thousand orange trees later, our route passes over the road that runs between the town of Bellreguard and its beach. Throughout the area it is very normal for the traditional town centre to be inland among the orchards while, 2 or 3 km away, there is a seaside settlement. This coastline, which in days gone by used to be an unbroken sandy beach backed by orange groves, is now a built-up strip of urban development in which it is hard to tell where one town ends and another begins. Returning to the Greenway, we continue along the easy to follow route and, shortly after leaving Bellreguard behind, we once again cross over the placid waters of the river Serpis, at this point channelled into the Madre irrigation canal. At Km 4 we pass close to the little village of Palmera, which borders on and practically melds with its neighbour, Alquería de la Condesa. Just outside the village the Greenway once again ducks under the cars to avoid the road leading to nearby Piles. At Km 5 we cross another irrigation canal, in the case the Piles canal. From now until we reach the end of our route at Oliva there are few surprises along the way, although we may come across people doing routine work on the orange groves whose fruit, so important to the economy of this region, finds its way into the homes of so many European countries in more northerly climes. Km 7 From here we arrive without incident to Oliva, the end of our Greenway. It is possible to continue down to the road to Oliva beach using a green painted cycle lane. Another option (perhaps more interesting and with less traffic) is to follow this cycle lane for a kilometre before turning left towards the Municipal Sports Centre where we can follow the course of the Las Fuentes canal, which is covered for the first few metres. After about 800 metres we come across a tarmacked path and cross a bridge to the left side of the canal. This section of the canal is more ‘natural’, with plant life and some waterfowl. The surface of the trail is compacted earth and the going is completely flat all the way to the port of Oliva and its beach (it is around 2 km from the Sports Centre to the beach on this canal service path) . Here beside the warm Mediterranean Sea is a good place to finish our excursion and, weather permitting, perhaps reward ourselves with a relaxing dip after our walk or bike ride. MAPS PROFILE RAILWAY HISTORY This Greenway is based on the route of the Carcaixent- Denia railway, undoubtedly the oldest narrow gauge railway on the Spanish mainland. The first section, between Carcaixent and Gandía, dates back to 1864 when an animal-drawn tram service was introduced, running on 35 km of tracks. After a long, drawn out process during which the railway concession changed hands several times, in 1884 the line was extended as far as Denia, now as a conventional railway drawn by steam locomotives. The railway was essentially agricultural by nature, and from the time of its full inauguration it belonged to the broad gauge railway company with which it linked up at Carcaixent: first to Ferrocarriles Almansa, Valencia y Tarragona (AVT) and later to Ferrocarriles del Norte. It would have passed over to Renfe when this state-owned company was created, but Renfe operated only broad gauge railways so the line was first run by EFE (Explotación de Ferrocarriles por el Estado) and then by FEVE, the last company to operate it. The railway’s quiet existence came to an end in 1969 when the Carcaixent-Gandía section was closed down due to the fact that part of that route was to be covered by a modern suburban train service running from Valencia via Silla-Cullera. The first broad gauge trains arrived at Gandía in 1972 and it was not long before plans were made to extend the service to Denia. While this project was under study, the Gandía-Denia section of narrow gauge railway was closed down in December 1974, and the tracks were pulled up in the expectation that the route would be reopened as a broad gauge suburban line. After years of abandonment during which there were many attempts to reopen the railway, the route has once again made the news. Now hundreds of cyclists and hikers of every kind and condition now ride or walk the 7 km that separate Gandía from Oliva, the stretch that has been reclaimed as a Greenway by the Ministry of the Environment. INTERESTING DATA 1. Festivals and holidays 2. Accommodation 3. Eco-tourism 4. Town Councils 5. Emergencies 6. Coaches & buses 7. Railway Festivals and holidays Gandía mach 16-19 Fallas,(fireworks and bonfires),declared of National Tourist Interest March - April Semana Santa (Easter), declared of National Tourist Interest End of September Fiestas de San Francisco de Borja December 24 Canto de la Sibila (a liturgical drama and Gregorian chant) at the Santa Ana hermitage Oliva January 17 Els Porrats Lent Fiestas de San Vicente. Week of bull runs March 15-19 Fallas (fireworks and bonfires) May 3 Fiestas del Cristo de San Roque Last Sunday in June Fiestas Mayores Third weekend in July Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians Festival) September 1-8 Fiestas de la Virgen del Rebollet Note: The term ‘fiestas’ refer to local holidays and festivals, often held in honour of the patron saint of the town or village Accommodation Alcoi Hotel Borgia***. Telf. 96 287 81 09 Hotel La Safor*. Telf. 96 286 40 11 Hotel Los Naranjos* Telf. 96 287 31 43 Hostal Duque Carlos* Telf. 96 287 28 44 Cámping L'Alquería. 2ª categoría Telf. 96 284 04 70 Cámping La Naranja. 2ª categoría Telf. 96 284 16 16 Playa de Gandía: Hotel Bayren I****. Telf. 96 284 03 00 Hotel Bayren II**** Telf. 96 284 07 00 Hotel Porto*** Telf. 96 284 17 23 Hotel Mengual* Telf.