# Bocairent

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.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/valencian-community/bocairent · Revisado: 2026-11-13

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.

## How do you get there from Valencia, Alicante and Albacete?

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.

## Where do you park?

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.

## What is there to see?

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.

## How much time do you need?

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.

## What can you do beyond the old town?

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.

## When is it best to go?

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.

## Where should you eat and sleep?

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.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Xàtiva (a 25.8 km), Guadalest and the Guadalest Valley (a 37.1 km), Villajoyosa (a 43.7 km), Altea (a 52.0 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Covetes dels Moros** (1 h · From age 3; not suitable with vertigo or claustrophobia · 4 €): Fifty windows in the wall of the Barranc de la Fos
The Covetes dels Moros are a group of artificial caves cut into the right-hand wall of the Barranc de la Fos, about 300 metres north of Bocairent's medieval quarter. From below you can see some fifty windows opened in the rock, spread over three or four levels without forming regular storeys, plus another nine that were begun and left half-finished. Behind each window is a chamber, almost always small and rectangular, about 2.5 by 3 or 4 metres. It is the largest group in the whole upper Clariano river valley.
For centuries all sorts of things were said about them: tombs, granaries, cells of Visigothic monks. The surveys by the Ontinyent Archaeological Museum point to security granaries of the Andalusi period, probably of peasant communities of Berber origin, similar to the collective granaries of the Atlas. The most likely dating is between the 10th and 11th centuries, though material is lacking to fix it.
On all fours from chamber to chamber
The visit is always guided, lasts an hour and starts on the hour, with a maximum of 15 people (adults and children count the same). You climb a metal staircase to the entrance, which was blasted open in 1908 to make access easier. Previously people climbed up notches cut in the rock, and two more rows of these steps can still be seen leading to the northern windows. Inside, the chambers are linked by openings in the walls and vertical shafts that overcome the differences in level, and between 70 and 80% of the route is on hands and knees. It demands some physical effort.
Arrive ten minutes early: once the visit has started you can't join and the ticket is lost.
Who can go in
It is not suitable for anyone with vertigo or claustrophobia, pregnant women, babies up to 3 years old or people with knee or hip replacements. Under-16s go with at least one adult. You can only enter in closed, tied shoes: no sandals, flip-flops or jelly shoes. Nor can you take a bag, rucksack or bum bag, so leave everything in the car or the hotel.
Slots, tickets and parking
Tickets cost €4 and are bought on the tourism ticket website or at the Cava de Sant Blai, where the day's tickets are sold. According to the Tourist Info timetable, there are slots Tuesday to Friday at 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00, and Sundays and public holidays at the same times; on Saturdays afternoon slots are added. There are no visits on Mondays. Check the timetable at the tourist office before going, because it changes with the season.
The old town is pedestrian: park on Calle Batalla de Lepanto or Calle Joaquín Sorolla and walk up. If you want to see another group of windows from inside with less effort, the Covetes del Colomer have an interpretation centre in the same town (€2.50).
The visit combines well with the Cava de Sant Blai, a few minutes away, and with the Barranc de la Fos trail, which passes below the caves. For lunch, El Cancell is open at midday Wednesday to Sunday.
- **Bocairent Old Town** (1 h 15 · Everyone; difficult with a pushchair · Self-guided · free): Bocairent's old town was declared a national historic-artistic site in 1975, and the Tourist Info recommends seeing it first from the entrance road, hanging over the rock, before going into it. Inside, the houses crowd the hillside and leave narrow, stepped streets of Arab layout: climbs, descents, stairways, twists, little squares and alleys with fountains and plant pots. You can walk it in an unhurried hour, free and under your own steam.
A little history
According to the town council, Neolithic settlements have been found in the caves of the Vinalopó and Sarsa rivers, and there were Iberian settlements on the hills and Roman villas in the municipality. The Muslim period is the one that left the most mark on the music, cooking, festivals and customs. In 1245 the town passed to the Crown of Aragon, in 1418 it was declared a royal town and in 1587 Philip II granted it the title of Royal Cloth Factory, with a Book of Privileges regulating the textile trade, which is now displayed in the Parish Museum. Textiles are still the town's industry.
What to see on the walk

Streets and little squares. Les Voltes, Sant Joan and l'Emboç, and the little squares of la Canterería and Sant Vicent. The portals, or old entrances, of Agost, Sant Blai and la Calzada Excusada remain.
The hermitages. Three within the old town: Sant Joan, la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats and la Mare de Déu d'Agost.
The fountains. Those of Gràcia, Sant Jaume, l'Aljub and dels Manyàs, built between 1793 and 1794, and a restored old washhouse.
Medieval houses. In 2008, during renovation work, dwellings came to light that show how people lived at the start of industrialisation, when textile work was done at home beside the vegetable plot and the animals.
Viewpoints over the Sierra de Mariola Natural Park and over the Covetes dels Moros.

At the very top is the Church of the Assumption, built on the ruins of an Arab castle, with the Parish Museum; beneath it, the "Vicent Casanova" municipal archaeological museum. Going down towards the little square of Sant Vicent is the Museum of Trades and Customs, with an old loom that still works; it is open Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 to 13:30, for €2.
Tips
Wear shoes with grip: there are many steps and the stone is slippery. The old town is pedestrian and cars are not allowed in; leave your car at the car park on Calle Batalla de Lepanto and Calle Joaquín Sorolla. It is not a walk for pushchairs.
The Tourist Info, on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, is open Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00, and Tuesday to Saturday also from 16:00 to 18:00. There and at entradas.bocairent.org you buy tickets for the monuments.
What to combine it with
From the old town you can walk to the Cava de Sant Blai and the Covetes dels Moros, and the bullring is a few minutes away. For lunch in the centre, El Cancell; to sleep inside the town, L'Àgora Hotel Boutique.
- **Bullring Cut into the Rock** (30 min · Everyone · 3 €): Bocairent's bullring opened on 20 July 1844 and is the oldest in the Comunitat Valenciana. What makes it unique is that it is cut for the most part into the living rock of the hillside. You visit it in half an hour, with guided slots at set times, for €3.
History
According to the Tourist Info, in the 17th and 18th centuries bulls were run through the town's streets, and from at least 1832 a temporary wooden ring was set up every year, from April to October. The stone ring did not come from a single cause: the assembly and safety problems of the wooden one, the town's good economic run, the Municipal Hospital's interest in having a fixed income and the support of local businessmen and professionals all weighed. There is also a popular story, which the town council tells as a romantic legend, about textile workers who swapped the shuttle for the pick and shovel to carve it.
It was built by a society of 77 shareholders, who built it and then managed it. Work began in 1843 and it opened the following year with nine tiers; in the next two years it was extended and consolidated. It has traditionally been a training ring for bullfighters before they moved on to bigger arenas.
What you see
Because of the lie of the land, the slope allows entry at ground level both through the bull gate, below, and through the presidential gallery, above. Today it has 3,760 seats, six corrals, slaughterhouse, infirmary and chapel. It still hosts bullfights and also cultural, sporting and festive events.
Opening hours and price
Admission costs €3. According to the timetable published by the Tourist Info, there are slots Tuesday to Friday at 16:00, 16:30, 17:00 and 17:30, and on Sundays and public holidays at 12:00, 12:30, 13:00 and 13:30; for Saturdays you need to ask at the tourist office. The bullring is also included in the €6 municipal pass, which gives access to three of these four attractions: bullring, Cava de Sant Blai, Covetes del Colomer and the archaeological museum.
Tickets are bought at entradas.bocairent.org or at the Tourist Info on the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, open Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00, and Tuesday to Saturday also from 16:00 to 18:00. On bullfight or event days the hours change: confirm beforehand on 96 290 50 62.
Getting there
The historic centre is pedestrian. You can leave your car on Calle Batalla de Lepanto and Calle Joaquín Sorolla, the streets the tourist office indicates, and continue on foot.
What to combine it with
Pair the afternoon visit with a walk round the old town and the climb to the Church of the Assumption, or with the visit to the Covetes dels Moros in the morning. For lunch, El Cancell, in the centre, or La Parada, in the old station.
- **Church of the Assumption and Bell Tower** (45 min · Everyone · €3 · free under 12): The parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption crowns Bocairent's old town, built on the ruins of an old Arab castle. It was consecrated in 1516, in Gothic style, and later adapted to Baroque taste; the Tourist Info says that it brings together the main characteristics of Valencian art, from Gothic to the 19th century. Beside it is the Parish Museum, which the Tourist Info counts among the best collections of sacred art in the Comunitat Valenciana.
What you see

The aisles. Three, separated by pilasters with sculptures of apostles. The central one has frescoes by Eduardo Esteve, from between the 18th and 19th centuries, with the Dormition and the Coronation of the Virgin.
The baptismal font. It was a 15th-century public fountain, carved in stone on a Gothic base, which passed to the parish in the 17th. It is attributed to Pere Compte and Pere Balaguer, the stonemasons of the Lonja and the Miguelete in Valencia.
The Reservado chapel, the former chapter house dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, begun in 1665 with stone from the Rompegalés quarry and paid for in part by the textile guilds of El Rosal and La Minerva. José Parreu and his pupils painted the frescoes in 1732.
The Sant Blai chapel, patron saint of Bocairent since 1632, a Churrigueresque work by the Vergara brothers from 1722, with four medallions on the life and martyrdom of the saint.
The high altar. At the base, "The Saviour" by Salvador Segrelles, a painter from Albaida. On the right, an altarpiece painted for this parish by Joan de Joanes in the 16th century; on the left, another that he began and his pupils finished. There is also a 15th-century processional cross.
The bell tower. It partly collapsed in the Montesa earthquake of 1748 and was rebuilt in 1766. You climb it on the visit.

The Parish Museum
It brings together silverwork, textiles, ceramics, painting and sculpture, with works by Joan de Joanes, Sorolla, the Master of Borbotó, Ribalta, Segrelles, Mariano Benlliure, Cristòfol Llorenç and Blas Silvestre. It was recently refurbished by the La Luz de las Imágenes Foundation. The Book of Privileges of the Royal Cloth Factory from 1587 is also kept here.
Opening hours and prices
The parish publishes these visiting hours: Saturdays from 12:00 to 13:30 and Sundays and public holidays from 12:45 to 14:00.

Church and bell tower: €3.
Church, bell tower and Parish Museum: €5.
Parish tourist pass: €8, with the museum, church, bell tower, rock-cut monastery and the Museum of Trades and Customs.

The Tourist Info says admission is free for under-12s; the parish leaflet extends this to under-14s. For arranged visits, info@parroquiabocairent.org or 639 835 593. Tickets are sold at the Tourist Info and on the town's ticket website. Hours can change: the tourist office warns that it is not responsible for changes to museum opening hours.
Getting there and what to combine it with
You walk up through the old town, which is pedestrian; the car stays on Calle Batalla de Lepanto and Calle Joaquín Sorolla. Below the church is the municipal archaeological museum, open Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 11:45 for €2.50. Very close are the Cava de Sant Blai and the visit to the Covetes dels Moros.
- **Cava de Sant Blai** (20 min · Everyone · 2,50 €): Before refrigerators, cold was kept in snow pits: the cavas or neveros. The Cava de Sant Blai is behind Bocairent's medieval quarter, beside the path to the Covetes dels Moros, and is the one you can visit inside the town. The visit is short, about 20 minutes, and costs €2.50.
The snow trade
According to the Tourist Info, the snow trade had its heyday between the 17th and 19th centuries. It was a complete cycle of collecting, storing, transporting, selling and consuming, in which day labourers, muleteers and merchants worked. Snow was tipped into the pits through high openings and the meltwater drained along channels to an outlet. It was used as a remedy, for preserving food and in cooking, among all social classes. Ice from the Sierra de Mariola supplied Xàtiva, Ontinyent or Gandía and other towns in the Vall d'Albaida, La Costera and La Ribera.
The Mariola municipalities preserve many cavas, some of them very large. In the Bocairent municipality there are, besides this one, the monumental Cava d'En Miquel and the Cavetes de Xàtiva.
What the Cava de Sant Blai is like
There are documents of its use from the 18th century. It is a circular pit 7.70 metres in diameter and 11 deep. The dome is hemispherical, partly of rubble masonry and one third carved from the rock, with a covered opening at the top. An upper door was used for workers to enter and to load the snow. From the bottom a gallery about 20 metres long, 1.80 high and 1 wide leads off, with a drainage channel to one side into which channels cut in the rock run. The inner walls keep a reddish coating and the remains of a small door, now walled up, which opened to the outside at mid-height.
Opening hours and price
Admission costs €2.50. According to the Tourist Info timetable, it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 14:00, with last entry at 13:40, and on Saturdays also from 16:00 to 18:00. Closed on Mondays. Tickets for the Covetes dels Moros, which depart on the hour, are sold right here.
It is included in the €6 municipal pass, which gives access to three attractions of your choice from the cava, the bullring, the Covetes del Colomer and the archaeological museum. Tickets are also available at entradas.bocairent.org and at the Tourist Info.
What to combine it with
It is a short visit, good for anyone who can't or doesn't want to crawl through the Covetes. The logical thing is to combine it with the Covetes dels Moros, on the same path, and with a walk round the old town. Anyone who wants to see the big cavas of the sierra, such as the Cava Gran or the Caveta del Buitre, can follow the cavas and Montcabrer route published by the Tourist Info, in the Sierra de Mariola Natural Park.
- **Barranc de la Fos Trail** (3 h 30 · 11 km · Families who walk; low difficulty · Self-guided · free): The Barranc de la Fos trail is the walk that takes you from Bocairent's old town to the bottom of the ravine and the mills and fulling mills of the Clariano river, along the old road from Bocairent to Ontinyent. It is an 11 km circuit, about 3 h 30, between 436 and 676 metres in altitude, with low difficulty according to the Tourist Info. It coincides with the PR-V 121 trail.
The route
It leaves from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and climbs Calle Mossén Hilari. It passes the Darrere la Vila bridge and the En Ferrís fountain and washhouse, and at the boundary cross you take the left-hand path, uphill. A small staircase cut in the rock goes down to the tanca del Bou and, from there, to the Barranc de la Fos.
Once in the bed of the Clariano, the mills follow one after another. The best known is the Eduardo Juan mill, with a vertical wheel about 6.5 metres in diameter. At the casa dels Julians the route joins the Barranc dels Tarongers, and then come the Lluna mill, the Patirás mill and the Tarongers fountain.
At a bend in the CV-81, the road between Bocairent and Ontinyent, the rock known as the Cagalló del Gegant is opposite. From there a steep staircase, on the right, climbs to the Alto del Castellar, a viewpoint over the road's bends, the Xàtiva to Alcoi railway line and its tunnels. The return to Bocairent leaves the Masarra estate on the left and passes the 16th-century hermitage of Sant Antoni Abad.
The mills audio guide
The town council has an audio guide, the "Mills Route", with 11 points: the origin of textiles in Bocairent, several mills, two textile factories, the Patirás aqueduct and the Toribio mill. Each point has its PDF on the tourism website; download them along with the route map before you set off.
Tips
Although the difficulty is low, there are two sections that need care: the staircase cut in the rock and the stairs up to the Alto del Castellar. Bring hiking footwear, water and something to eat; the Tourist Info doesn't say whether the fountains along the way are drinkable. In summer, better to set off early. With children, only if they already walk well; it can't be done with a pushchair, because of the stairs.
Getting there and parking
The old town is pedestrian: leave your car on Calle Batalla de Lepanto and Calle Joaquín Sorolla and walk to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, where the Tourist Info is. The office is open Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00, and Tuesday to Saturday also from 16:00 to 18:00; there they can answer questions about the state of the path.
What to combine it with
The route passes beneath the old town and opposite the cliffs of the Covetes dels Moros, which you visit in the morning with a timed slot. On your return, a walk round the old town and lunch at El Cancell or at La Parada, the restaurant of Hotel L'Estació.
- **The Caves and Montcabrer Route, the Roof of the Mariola** (10 h · 36.3 km · Fit walkers; the 15 km variant, for good walkers · Independent · free): Montcabrer, at 1,390 metres, is the highest summit of the Serra de Mariola, and the route published by Bocairent's tourist office reaches it by the most interesting way: that of the cavas, the stone snow wells where the mountain's ice was stored. It is a demanding circular route. In full, from the village, it is 36.3 km and about ten hours; if you start at the Font de Mariola recreation area, it is 15 km.
From the village to the heart of the mountains
The full route sets off from Bocairent's football ground, at 626 metres, and climbs along the track of the Terrers farmhouse to the pass. From there it follows the waymarks of the GR-7, the long-distance footpath whose stage 32 in the Comunitat Valenciana is here. It passes the hermitage of Santa Bàrbara, with the Plà spring and a centuries-old poplar, and the farmhouses of Mingol and Bassa Roja as far as the campsite. It reaches the Font de Mariola recreation area, leaving the Alt and the Mariola castle on the right.
The snow wells, one after another
From the Mas dels Arbres spring the best part begins. About 200 metres to the left, a path leads to the Cava de Don Miguel, with enormous buttresses. Back on the main track, the climb passes the Cava del Buitre and, higher up, the Cava Gran or Cava Arqueada; a few metres away are the Centre Excursionista d'Alcoi refuge, the Cava de la Habitació and the summit of the Teix.
They are the other face of the village's Cava de Sant Blai. According to the tourist office, between the 17th and 19th centuries the snow trade gave work to day labourers, muleteers and merchants: up here the wells were filled in winter and, in the heat, the muleteers brought the ice down to sell it. If you do the route, visit the village's cava first, which you can see inside, to understand what you will find in the mountains.
The summit and the descent
To climb Montcabrer you take the PR-CV 27, which shares a few metres with the GR-7. The return follows the PR-CV 57 eastwards, past the Mas de la Foia Ampla, to the Font de Mariola. If you set out from the village, from there you still have the way back to Bocairent, which is included in the 36.3 km.
Ten hours or half
The full route is for fit walkers and long days: in autumn and winter there is not enough daylight to do it unhurried. The variant from the Font de Mariola, 15 km, suits almost everyone; the recreation area is reached by car from Bocairent in about 20 minutes. The tourist office names springs along the way, such as the Plà, the Mariola and the Mas dels Arbres, but does not say whether the water is drinkable: carry all the water you will drink.
The mountains are a Natural Park. For the state of the paths, the rules and fire-risk restrictions in summer, ask at the Serra de Mariola Natural Park Interpretation Centre, on 965 937 961, or at Bocairent's Tourist Info.
- **Balloon Flight over the Serra de Mariola from Bocairent** (For all audiences; there is an adapted balloon · €209 according to Bocairent's tourist office): From the air, the Mariola makes sense all at once: mountains, valleys, villages and castles of southern Valencia and northern Alicante, as the company describes them. Totglobo, a Valencian company that has flown passengers since 1998, has its main area here, taking off from Bocairent. You fly at sunrise, and on clear days, according to the company, you can see the sea.
What the flight includes
Bocairent's tourist office lists the experience at €209 per person and details what it includes: transport during the activity, the flight over the Serra de Mariola Natural Park, a cava toast in the middle of nature on landing, a typical breakfast at a restaurant, the flight certificate and photos and video. Totglobo's website publishes neither price nor duration: confirm them when you book.
A balloon for those who cannot climb into the basket
Totglobo has an adapted balloon, with a door in the basket and a hydraulic seat adjustable in height with a safety harness, so that people with reduced mobility can fly. The company advertises its flights as suitable for all audiences; if you are going with small children, ask about the minimum age when you book.
Booking and choosing the day
You buy online at any time, on 629 611 889 or at its office in Russafa, Valencia, calling beforehand. The tickets are bearer tickets with an open date: they can be given as gifts and the recipient chooses the day. A balloon flies with the wind: ask when you book what happens if the chosen day cannot be flown. Totglobo is authorised by the State Aviation Safety Agency, which inspects it, and is on the Comunitat Valenciana's active tourism register under number TA-4-V.
To round off the day
After breakfast you still have the whole morning in Bocairent: the old town and the Covetes dels Moros, which run on the hour with a reservation. Since flights are at sunrise, the comfortable option is to sleep in the village the night before, at the Hotel L'Estació or L'Àgora.
- **Guided E-Bike Ride through the Serra de Mariola from Bocairent** (3 h · 35 km · Confident cyclists; the track variant asks for more technique · From €65 for a couple to €44 in groups of eight): The Mariola is a range of long slopes, and the e-bike makes them manageable: the motor lets you look at the scenery instead of the handlebars. Diània Experiències, an agency from Alfafara, another village in the Mariola, sets out with a guide from Bocairent every day on a route of about three hours that returns to the same point.
Through the valley or the mountains
There are two routes, and the guide adapts the pace from relaxed to intense:

La Valleta, on tarmac: 35 km and 510 metres of cumulative climbing. It crosses the valley and its villages with moderate climbs. It is the good one for anyone not used to tracks.
Altos de Mariola, on tracks: 38 km and 680 metres. It goes into the high mountains along dirt tracks and asks for more technique on the bike.

If it feels too short, the extension adds about two hours: 45 km and 748 metres of ascent.
Price and equipment
Prices fall with group size: €65 per person for two, €54 for three, €50 for four, €49 for five, €48 for six, €46 for seven and €44 for eight. It includes the e-bike, helmet, guide and rescue insurance. Lunch, the extension and a water bottle are extras. The website gives no minimum age or height: if you are going with teenagers, ask when you book.
Before you set off
Wear comfortable clothes in layers, sunglasses, bring water and wear shoes with a firm sole. In summer, ask for the earliest departure: in the mountains there is little shade and the midday heat weighs even when the motor is pushing. When you get back you are in the village, in time for lunch at La Parada or El Cancell, which open Wednesday to Sunday. If you prefer to ride without a guide, the tourist office publishes the Xixarra greenway and several mountain-bike tracks.
- **By e-bike from Bocairent to the Fontanars vineyards, with a tasting** (5 h · 30 km · Adults who ride confidently; the track variant is hard · From €90 for a couple to €67 in groups of ten): From Bocairent towards Fontanars dels Alforins, the neighbouring village, you go from the mountains to the vineyards. Diània Experiències suggests crossing it by e-bike, at your own pace, with a tasting at the end and no need to pedal back: from the winery they take you back to Bocairent by car. In total it is about five hours, of which two to three are on the bike.
Tarmac or track
The route is self-guided: they give you the bike, the route and the panniers, and you set the pace. You choose between two routes:

On tarmac, moderate level: 30 km with 500 metres of climbing and as much descent.
On a mountain track, hard: 35 km and 570 metres.

The website does not name the winery for the tasting: ask when you book.
What it costs and what it does not
The price drops with group size: €90 per person for a couple, €82.50 for four, €78.30 for six, €72.40 for eight and €67 for ten. It includes the e-bike, helmet, tasting and the transfer back. Lunch and a water bottle are paid separately. It runs at weekends.
Pedalling and tasting
The fact that the return is by car is no small detail: after a tasting you do not get on a bike. Even so, have someone who has not been drinking drive the car home, or stay overnight in Bocairent. Bring water for the route, because there is little shade among the vines, and layers of clothing. If you are interested in the local wine, in Moixent, about 48 minutes by car, there is the visit to Celler del Roure, at weekends.
- **Guided Tour of Bocairent's Medieval Quarter with Arquea Architects** (2 h · For everyone; stairs and cobbles, better a baby carrier · €12 · under-12s free): Bocairent's old town is easy to explore on your own, but it has a catch: it is a labyrinth of stairs and little squares where it is easy to walk past what matters. Arquea, a team of the village's architects who work on the conservation of its heritage, shows it in two hours and in a small group.
A walk with an architect's eye
The tour "Bocairent y el Barrio Medieval" is a walk through the quarter declared a historic-artistic ensemble, and includes the magic route, the circuit of about 2.5 km past grand houses, alleys and houses hanging over the ravine that the tourist office suggests for families. At the end, each participant takes home a hand-drawn postcard of Bocairent. It is run in Spanish, Valencian or English.
Dates, price and group
Arquea publishes a calendar with specific days and times. In November 2026 it has sessions on Thursday 19 at 11:00, Saturday 21 at 11:30 and Sunday 22 at 11:00, and some are already full. It costs €12 per person, and under-12s do not pay. Groups are small and go ahead with a minimum of six to eight people; if that is not reached, they let you know in good time. For your own group, a family, an association or a school, they organise tailor-made visits.
Booking and accessibility
Ask for a place 24 to 48 hours ahead, by WhatsApp or on 623 02 08 72, or at info@arquea.es. At the last minute, ask whether there is room. The quarter is all cobbles, slopes and stairs: bring a baby carrier rather than a pushchair, and if anyone has reduced mobility, ask them beforehand for a route with less gradient.
Before and after
It fits in mid-morning, before the Covetes dels Moros, which run on the hour, or before lunch at El Cancell, on calle Sant Roc. Park on the streets Batalla de Lepanto and Joaquín Sorolla: the old town is pedestrianised.

## Dónde comer
- **El Cancell** (Restaurant, Bocairent, €€€). Qué pedir: the olleta de Bocairent or a dry rice with pork cheek and artichokes, with pericana to start
- **La Parada Restaurant** (Restaurant, Bocairent, €€€). Qué pedir: the grilled chuletón, which is best booked in advance

## By car: The Old Town Is Pedestrian: Park Below
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.
Presupuesto orientativo: 60–110 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hotel L'Estació** (Small hotel): Sleeping in a station
L'Estació occupies Bocairent's old railway station, in a tree-filled park at the foot of the town. From the railway building it keeps the long layout and high ceilings, which are now the café; inside there is also a sitting room with a fireplace for winter nights and an inner courtyard designed for reading or chatting on spring and summer afternoons. Outside, a garden with palm trees and an outdoor pool.
Being in the park and not in the old town, the car stays next to the hotel and you don't have to fight with the slopes or the pedestrian streets of the historic centre. The town is a short walk away.
The rooms
There are 14, in two types. The classic double is the standard room. The superior double is larger, with modern decoration in warm tones, with a full bathroom with bath and hairdryer, flat-screen TV, telephone, desk and wifi. The hotel highlights both rooms' views of the park and the countryside.
The website doesn't publish fixed rates, check-in and check-out times or a pet policy; you book through its booking engine or by phone, and it is worth asking about the rest.
Eating without going out
The La Parada restaurant, in the same building, serves Mediterranean cooking and grilled meat Wednesday to Sunday, at midday from 13:30 and in the evening from 20:30, and is also open to non-guests. It has a glazed, air-conditioned room for celebrations of up to 120 people, and the hotel offers its spaces for meetings and company trips.
Among its offers, the hotel publishes a romantic weekend for €160 per person, VAT included: two nights in a superior double with breakfast, a candlelit dinner at La Parada and a welcome bottle of cava, drinks at dinner not included. It also organises, on request, dawn balloon flights over the area.
Who it's for
For couples and families who want the town a short walk away and the car parked without problems, and for anyone looking for a quiet hotel with a pool in summer and a fireplace in winter. The restaurant is closed on Monday and Tuesday: if you arrive at the start of the week, dine in the town.
From here you walk up to the old town, the bullring cut into the rock and the Covetes dels Moros, whose tickets are bought at the Tourist Info.
- **L'Àgora Hotel Boutique** (Small hotel): Travelling without leaving your room
L'Àgora is a three-star boutique hotel in the centre of Bocairent, on Calle Sor Piedad de la Cruz, a few steps from the old town declared a historic-artistic site. It has eight rooms and each is decorated as a faraway destination, with furniture and objects that evoke that country. It is a small hotel with personal service, designed for sleeping in the town and not outside it.
The rooms
There are four junior suites, called Pakistan, Thailand, China and Africa, and two types of standard double: with a double bed or with two beds. The junior suites are larger, with a reading area and a whirlpool bath. All have a full bathroom, and some suites connect with a double by an interior door, which lets a family have two linked rooms.
Since 2025 the hotel also has l'Àgora Rooms, five simpler-design rooms in the building next door, booked through their own website. They are an option for those who want the same location with less decoration.
The website doesn't publish fixed rates, check-in and check-out times, its own parking or a pet policy: ask when you book on 962 355 039 or at info@lagorahotel.com.
What it has
A café open to the public, breakfasts and dinners with a half-board option, a sun terrace used all year and rooms for business meetings. The hotel offers experiences in the area: balloon flights, bike and e-bike routes through the Sierra de Mariola and round Bocairent, a couples' getaway and a pedal-powered wine-tourism route from Bocairent to Fontanars dels Alforins with a wine tasting.
Getting there and getting around
It is in the centre: leave your car in the car parks outside the old town, because the historic streets are pedestrian and steep. From Valencia you get there by the A-7 to Xàtiva, the CV-40 to Ontinyent and the CV-81; from Alicante, by the A-31 to Villena and then the CV-81. According to the hotel, the La Concepción bus links Valencia with Bocairent, and the nearest train stations are Ontinyent, on the Valencia–Alcoi line, and Villena, with high-speed AVE.
What's nearby
On foot you can reach everything worth visiting in Bocairent: the old town, the Church of the Assumption, the Cava de Sant Blai and the Covetes dels Moros. It suits couples looking for something different and families who can link two rooms.
- **Mariola Campsite** (Campsite): Right in the sierra
Mariola Campsite is inside the Sierra de Mariola Natural Park, at kilometre 9 of the Bocairent to Alcoi road, surrounded by pine wood and with trails starting from reception itself. It is not a town campsite: it is in the hills, and to go down to Bocairent for lunch, to see the Covetes or to stroll round the old town you need the car. In return, at night there is silence, dark skies and coolness even in high summer, something not abundant on the Valencian coast.
The campsite is run by the company Les Fonts de Mariola and combines several ways of staying: bungalows, pitches, a free camping area and camp facilities for schools, associations and organised groups.
Bungalows and pitches
The bungalows come in four types according to the number of places: A for 2 people, B for 4, C for 5 and D for 6. All have parking, a terrace in front, heating, equipped kitchen, full bathroom, living room with TV and separate bedrooms. They don't include sheets or towels: the campsite rents bed linen, but you have to bring towels.
The pitches are between 70 and 100 square metres, for tent or caravan, with a 1,100 W electricity hook-up, digital TV connection and lamp posts that light them at night. For motorhomes there is a grey- and black-water emptying point and a fresh-water filling point. According to its website, pets are allowed on the pitches; check the conditions when you book. Those who prefer something simpler have the free camping area, with access to all the services.
What it has inside
There is a large pool with a rest area and a shallow children's pool, usually open from mid-June to early September, with an entertainment team at that time. It has a home-cooking restaurant with a terrace, a bar, a supermarket with the basics (food, drink, ice and camping gear), barbecue areas with paella burners for wood or charcoal, a children's playground and courts for pétanque, indoor football and basketball.
The six toilet blocks have free hot showers, heating in winter, washbasins and sinks, plus washing machines and dryers. There are adapted toilets, baby-changing facilities and ramps in the common areas. Wifi is free at reception and the bar; on the pitches it is paid.
Who it's for and how to book
It works well for families who want a pool and children playing without cars, for walkers and mountain bikers going to explore the Mariola and for school groups. In summer the campsite organises guided excursions, tournaments and children's workshops.
The website doesn't publish an opening season or check-in and check-out times; rates are in its prices section and booking is done online, by phone (962 135 160) or on WhatsApp (662 079 528). Barbecues depend on each season's rules: in summer, with fire risk, it is worth asking before lighting the charcoal.
From the campsite, the classic plan is to go down to the town for the Covetes dels Moros and the old town, or to do the Barranc de la Fos trail.

## As a family: Caves on All Fours and a Bullring in the Rock

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.

### What works best
The Covetes dels Moros: 1 h on all fours, from age 3

The bullring cut into the rock, €3

The Cava de Sant Blai, a snow pit in the town

The Barranc de la Fos trail, 11 easy km, for those who walk

Arquea's guided tour of the medieval quarter, free up to age 12

### Where to sleep
Hotel L'Estació, with a garden and pool

Mariola Campsite, with bungalows and pools

### Where to eat
La Parada, at L'Estació, with grilled meat

El Cancell, with rice dishes to share

### Bear in mind
Covetes: not for under-3s; closed shoes and no rucksacks

The church is free for under-12s

Pushchair, better not: the old town is stairs

### Qué hacer as a family
- Covetes dels Moros
- Bocairent Old Town
- Bullring Cut into the Rock
- Church of the Assumption and Bell Tower
- Cava de Sant Blai
- Barranc de la Fos Trail
- Guided Tour of Bocairent's Medieval Quarter with Arquea Architects

## Consejos

### Book the Covetes
There are 15 places per slot and you cannot enter once it has started.

### Closed shoes
Compulsory in the Covetes, and useful on the stairs of the old town.

### Watch out for Mondays and Tuesdays
El Cancell and La Parada are closed.

### See the village from outside
The best view is from the road in.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does it cost to visit the Covetes dels Moros?
€4 per person, on a one-hour guided visit.

### Can children go into the Covetes?
From 3 years old, and under-16s with an adult. It is not suitable for babies, pregnant women or people with vertigo or claustrophobia.

### How long does it take from Valencia?
Around an hour and a quarter, about 95 km along the A-7 and the CV-40.

### Can you drive into the old town?
No, it is pedestrian-only. Park on Calle Batalla de Lepanto or Joaquín Sorolla.

### Which route should you do?
The Barranc de la Fos: an 11 km circuit, 3 h 30 and low difficulty.

### Where do you eat on Sunday?
El Cancell is open at lunchtime on Sunday; La Parada, at lunchtime and in the evening.