38.77° N · 0.61° W
A medieval old town above a ravine, window caves you visit on all fours, a bullring dug into the rock and the Sierra de Mariola, an hour from Valencia and Alicante.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
A 1-hour guided visit to about fifty Andalusi window-caves hanging in the Barranc de la Fos, almost all on hands and knees · €4 · Tuesday to Sunday.
Streets of Arab layout, stairways and three hermitages in the historic-artistic site hanging over the ravine · 1 h · free.
The oldest bullring in the Comunitat Valenciana, from 1844, carved almost entirely from living rock · 30 min · €3.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
Spring and autumn for the old town and the ravine. In summer, do the Covetes and the old town first thing. In winter, dry cold and the caça i bolets competition at the end of November.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
You get to Bocairent by the A-7 and the CV-40 from Valencia or Alicante, passing through Ontinyent. The historic centre is pedestrian: park on Calle Batalla de Lepanto or Calle Joaquín Sorolla and walk up.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Bocairent hooks children through the physical: the Covetes are visited on all fours, the bullring is carved into the rock and the old town is a maze of stairways. It all fits into one morning.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: 14-room hotel in the old railway station, in a park with a palm garden, outdoor pool, fireplace and a grill restaurant.
Why we like it: Three-star boutique hotel in the centre of Bocairent, with eight rooms each decorated as a faraway country, a café and a sun terrace.
Why we like it: Campsite with bungalows, shaded pitches and pools inside the Sierra de Mariola Natural Park, a few minutes by car from Bocairent.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the olleta de Bocairent or a dry rice with pork cheek and artichokes, with pericana to start
What to order: the grilled chuletón, which is best booked in advance
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
There are 15 places per slot and you cannot enter once it has started.
Compulsory in the Covetes, and useful on the stairs of the old town.
El Cancell and La Parada are closed.
The best view is from the road in.
Bocairent is a village in the Vall d'Albaida, in the south of Valencia province, perched on a crag above the Clariano ravine and at the foot of the Sierra de Mariola. The old town, a listed historic-artistic site, is a tangle of Moorish streets and stairways; opposite, in the wall of the ravine, are the Covetes dels Moros, window caves dug about a thousand years ago that you crawl through. It also has the oldest bullring in the Comunitat, carved into the rock in 1844, a snow well in the middle of the village and trails that drop down to mills and fulling mills. It is an hour from Alicante, an hour and a quarter from Valencia and under an hour and a half from Albacete: a perfect Sunday.
By car. From Valencia it is about 95 km: the A-7 towards Alicante and the CV-40 via Ontinyent, around an hour and a quarter. From Alicante, about 85 km along the A-7 and Alcoi or via Villena: around an hour. From Albacete, about 125 km along the A-31 to Almansa and the CV-81 via Fontanars dels Alforins, a little under an hour and a half. A bus from Valencia, run by La Concepción, also reaches Bocairent, according to the L'Àgora hotel; for a Sunday, confirm it beforehand.
The historic centre is pedestrian-only and cars may not enter. The Tourist Info points to the streets Batalla de Lepanto and Joaquín Sorolla as the parking area, a few minutes' walk from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. If you are staying at L'Estació, the car stays in the park of the former station.
Start by looking at the village from the road, hanging above the rock. Then the old town: the three hermitages, the church of the Assumption up on the hill (€3 with the bell tower, free for under-12s) and the Museum of Trades and Customs, with a loom that still works. The Covetes dels Moros are the star visit: an hour with a guide, on the hour, 15 people at most, €4, and between 70 and 80% of the route on all fours. Add the bullring dug into the rock (€3) and the Cava de Sant Blai (€2.50), a snow well with its dome intact. Tickets are bought at the Tourist Info on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento or at entradas.bocairent.org.
A day covers the old town, the Covetes, the bullring and an unhurried meal. If you want to walk, the Barranc de la Fos route is an 11 km circuit of 3 h 30 along the old Ontinyent road, among mills and stairs cut into the rock, with low difficulty. With a night you can head up into the Sierra de Mariola: the cavas and Montcabrer hike, the roof of the range at 1,390 metres, is 36.3 km from the village or 15 km from the Font de Mariola.
Go up into the sierra in other ways. Totglobo takes off from Bocairent for a balloon flight over the Mariola at sunrise; the tourist office lists it at €209 with a toast and breakfast. Diània Experiències leaves from the village with electric bikes and a guide every day, three hours from €44, and at weekends offers the self-guided route among vineyards with a tasting and a lift back by car. If you prefer the village with an explanation, the architects of Arquea guide the medieval quarter in two hours for €12, free for under-12s.
In spring and autumn. In summer the interior is oppressive: do the Covetes and the old town first thing. In winter it is dry and cold and it is the season for spoon dishes; at the end of November the village holds its caça i bolets (game and mushroom) gastronomic competition. Visits have seasonal opening hours: ask at the Tourist Info before you go.
El Cancell, on Calle Sant Roc, serves market cooking with local dishes such as pericana and the olleta de Bocairent, and is open Wednesday to Sunday at lunchtime. La Parada, the restaurant at the L'Estació hotel, specialises in chargrilled meat and is open Wednesday to Sunday. To sleep: L'Estació, in the former railway station, with a garden and a swimming pool; L'Àgora, an eight-room boutique hotel in the centre; or Camping Mariola, inside the natural park, with bungalows.
Questions
€4 per person, on a one-hour guided visit.
From 3 years old, and under-16s with an adult. It is not suitable for babies, pregnant women or people with vertigo or claustrophobia.
Around an hour and a quarter, about 95 km along the A-7 and the CV-40.
No, it is pedestrian-only. Park on Calle Batalla de Lepanto or Joaquín Sorolla.
The Barranc de la Fos: an 11 km circuit, 3 h 30 and low difficulty.
El Cancell is open at lunchtime on Sunday; La Parada, at lunchtime and in the evening.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/valencian-community/bocairent
