Hiking Part IV: Conquering the Peñón de Ifach in Calpe

A view of Calpe from the Summit of the
Peñón de Ifach

As my time is winding down in Spain I have been attempting to try to explore as much of the community of Valencia as possible, more specifically, the towns in the Costa Blanca. As I mentioned before, one of my favorite new activities is mountain hiking. The reason why I love it so much is because it’s an activity that can be so challenging, both physically and mentally, and I really like challenging myself. Also, if done on the right day with the right person/people, it can be quite fun.

Since I’ve been yearning for some more adventure lately, I decided to look up some cool things to do in some of Jávea’s neighboring towns. After searching I came across a big attraction in the Costa Blanca, the Peñón de Ifach, a big rock located in the town of Calpe, about 45 minutes away from Jávea.

I began to read a bit more about the Peñón and it´s challenging hiking trail and I immediately became interested in going to Calpe to climb it. I told my friend in Alicante about my plans and she agreed to meet me in Calpe this weekend so that we can climb this big rock together.

On Saturday morning I packed my book bag with some crucial hiking supplies (food, water, tissue, etc.) and I took the bus to Calpe. The ride to Calpe was very quick and easy. When I arrived I tried to find the tourist office to get a little information about the hiking trail. After being misled by several different people I decided that having a map wasn’t that important and so I went on to meet my friend.

The Peñón

I met her at the beach and when I arrived I immediately saw the Peñón that we were going to climb. It was a very tall rock protruding out of the land into the sea (it was impossible to miss). When I first saw it I was immediately taken back because it was so tall that I was trying to figure out how it was possible to climb. But I was sure that we could do it.

My friend and I began to head towards the Peñón. Once we got close to it we weren’t sure which direction to take and we ended up taking the wrong route (maybe a map would have been useful) which led to a dead end. Although we took the wrong path I was still content that we went because we ended up taking a longer stroll along the sea.We got a beautiful view of the water and the rocks and even saw where the helicopter landed, which was both comforting and terrifying at the same time. Apparently, the helicopter landing point was at the very bottom of the rock, so it someone got hurt while climbing the rock they would first have to get all the way down to the helicopter before getting the help that they need. Helpful? I think not.

When we finally walked back over to the other side of the rock we were already a little exhausted (which could definitely be due to the fact that it was very sunny and hot that day). We looked at a map of the journey that we were going to be taking and figured that it looked pretty simple. But then again, things do look much simpler when you are looking at them on paper.

We finally started walking upwards towards our destination. The beginning of the path was very simple and straight, but for some reason, we were having a difficult time with it. We were only walking uphill, without any rocks or ropes or dangerous slopes but we were a little exhausted. Perhaps our bodies were warming up for the journey ahead of us or the sun was draining us a bit, but we sure hoped that the former was taking place. It would have been pretty bad if we were already exhausted before having barely started the hike.

About 10-15 minutes after walking we came across an information center. Apparently, not only is the Peñón de Ifach well known for its hiking trail, but it is also a natural wildlife park and one of the smallest European nature reserves. As we walked around the information center (which was completely empty because it was Spanish siesta time) we read about some of the history of the Peñón and the wildlife present there. After leaving the center, we crossed the “real” entrance to the Peñón and began our hike.

Like before, we continued to walk uphill, breathing quite loudly the whole way. Fortunately, this part was covered by trees so there was a good amount of shade available to us. As we were walking up we stopped at several miradors, places where you can get a good few of different areas in the town. They all had a beautiful view of the sea.

Eventually we reached the tunnel. According to the information that we read, this tunnel is what separated the two parts of the hike, the simple from the difficult. It was advised that only serious hikers attempt the trail after leaving the tunnel because it was very dangerous. Kids were prohibited.

I was immediately aware of how dangerous the trail could actually be once we entered the cave. The bottom of it was covered with extremely slippery rocks; it was as if they were coated with some type of material. Because of this, there were long ropes tied along the tunnel walls to help hikers walk across. I hoped that these rocks weren’t present throughout the entire route, because if so, then we would be in trouble.

Once we exited the tunnel we immediately noticed a series of warning signs attached to a pole. In America, something like this would have been expected, but I was actually quite shocked to see it in Spain. My friends and I joke all the time about the lack of warning signs and boundaries here. People do dangerous activities without having to sign forms, children go on field trips where they are at the top of castles and hills without any boundaries (fences, chains) present, and even all of the other dangerous hiking trails that I have done in Spain contained no caution sign whatsoever.

Seeing the warning sign made me realize that perhaps this route was actually dangerous, especially considering the fact that it was also written in 5 different languages. Although it was quite intimidating I must admit that it was definitely a relief to see. Maybe Spaniards care about such things as safety after all.

Immediately after passing the warning signs we were faced with our first obstacle, getting across a group of unstable, slippery rocks using some chains. Although I was glad that I could rely on the trains for support, this part was still a little frightening to me for some reason. Eventually, I took my time and made it to the other side.

The next 30 minutes or so of the route wasn’t too challenging; however, it wasn’t very easy either. Fortunately the ground was somewhat level and we didn’t have to do too much climbing. We were very quickly reminded about the Peñón being a natural wildlife park when we started to see and hear swarms of birds around us.

About an hour or so after hiking we finally reached the point in which we had to choose between two different routes to take. One route was much simpler and ended at a point on the edge of the rock and another route was much more challenging and went to the very peak of the Peñón. Because my friend and I are rock stars, we decided that we would do both.

First, we took the simpler route. There were a few tricky points in this route but, overall, it wasn’t that bad. The most difficult thing that we had to deal with was the group of birds that we encountered. Although they didn’t necessarily bother us, they did sit on many of the rocks that we passed and made strange noises. We had to make a deliberate attempt not to get to close to their babies so that we wouldn’t get attacked by them. Once we reached the end of this route we were standing in a small open space surrounded by small rocks. I learned that this is where the old guard’s post was once located in Calpe. It is where the guards kept an eye out for attacks by pirates in the old days. Now it consists of ruins. Looking beyond the tall rocks there was a beautiful view of the sea. My friend made the mistake of looking directly down and, once she realized how far away from the bottom we were, she developed a small case of vertigo. As we were at this spot enjoying the view we decided to munch on our sandwiches and fruit that we had brought along. After resting and hydrating ourselves, we made our way back to where we began the route.

We knew that the other route was going to be difficult before we even started because, unlike the other route that went across the Peñón, this one went directly up. We had to deliberate for a while just to figure out exactly we were going to begin going up. The climb to the peak of the mountain was very difficult but also very fun. We had to strongly rely on our hands and feet almost the entire the time. There were a couple of ropes and chains available to us at the most difficult areas. After doing much climbing and sweating, we finally made it to the very top.

Once we reached the summit we felt pretty darn accomplished. From the top of the rock you can see even more of Calpe, as well as some neighboring cities such as Benidorm and, I think, Jávea. I’ve heard that on an exceptionally clear day you can see the Island of Ibiza, but this day wasn’t that clear.

We sat at the top of the rock for a while and took in the great view. After a while, we decided to make our way back down. The journey down the rock was also very difficult. Although it would seem that going down wouldn’t be as much a challenge, it was actually even more challenging. We had to rely on almost every part of our body even more. I felt a little like a monkey.

At one point our journey down, I was making my way across some unstable rocks with the help of a chain and I accidently slipped and fell down (but I was saved by my strong grip on the chains). Although it was a little painful, I couldn’t help but to lie their (diagonally) and laugh at myself for my clumsy ways. I believe I scared my friend.

When we finally climbed and roped ourselves back to the bottom of the mountain, we were tired and hungry. I’m pretty sure that I was also covered in bugs that stuck to my sweaty skin. The total hiking time was a little over 4 hours, which was a little surprising to us because we thought that it would be much quicker.

Paella

We decided to reward ourselves with a menú del dia for conquering the Peñón. We quickly found a restaurant and sat down. Sitting down for the first time since finishing the hike felt pretty awesome. We shared a bottle of wine and some bread and ordered our first and second plates. For my first plate I ordered a spaghetti Bolognese and for the second plate we both had paella. I also had a few slices of apple pie for dessert (I think I burned enough calories to have all of that). After eating, we talked, relaxed and enjoyed the breeze. It was the perfect ending to a long and strenuous hike.

Eventually, it was time for us to return to our perspective cities. We took a bus which dropped me off at the bus station and her off at the train station and said “adéu”.

While I was waiting for the bus at the station I came across a guy who was also waiting for the bus and we started talking. He had a box of ice cream cones and was eating one when he asked me if I wanted any. I told him no because I was on a diet (despite the huge lunch that I had just eaten) and he kept persisting and saying that he didn’t want to throw them away. Apparently, he had wanted some ice cream but the store that he went to didn’t sell them individually so he bought a box of six. He was eating his fourth cone. Just to shut him up, I took an ice cream cone and started eating it. Then we began to talk about Calpe and other cities in Spain and he told me about some of the cool trips he’d taken throughout Europe and Africa.

Although I was pretty tired, when the bus finally came I didn’t sleep on it. The ride was only 40 minutes long so I decided to wait. When I made it back to my piso I took a really long shower, ate some fruit, watched a    movie and crashed. I had a fabulous time hiking in Calpe and I can’t wait for the next adventure!