# A weekend in Bocairent: sunrise balloon, Covetes and the Serra de Mariola

Saturday in the sierra by e-bike or on foot along the cavas (snow wells), an afternoon of Covetes and the old town, and on Sunday a sunrise balloon flight over the Mariola.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/valencian-community/bocairent/itineraries/balloon-and-mariola-snow-wells-bocairent · Revisado: 2026-11-13

Dónde: Bocairent

Bocairent in a day is the old town, the Covetes and the bullring. With one night you add what surrounds it, the Serra de Mariola: a morning in the sierra on Saturday, by e-bike or on foot, and on Sunday, in the first light, the same sierra seen from a balloon. Sleeping in the village is what makes the flight possible, as it takes off at dawn.

## Where to sleep

AccommodationWhereWho for

Hotel L'EstacióIn the old railway station, with a garden and poolFamilies and those arriving by car: you park on the estate

L'Àgora Hotel BoutiqueInside the villageCouples who want the old town on foot

Camping MariolaBungalows and poolsFamilies and those who come to walk in the Mariola

## What changes with the season?

In spring and autumn everything fits. In July and August the interior is stifling: leave the bike or the sierra for first thing and the Covetes for the afternoon. In winter, wrap up for the balloon; the full Montcabrer route does not fit in a short day, so stick to the 15 km variant. El Cancell and La Parada close on Mondays and Tuesdays.

## With teenagers

The Covetes on all fours, the e-bike, which still has no published minimum age (ask when booking), and the balloon. For small children, swap the bike for the Barranc de la Fos route, of low difficulty, and remember that the Covetes are from age 3.

## El plan

### Saturday · 9:30 · The Mariola by e-bike
With Diània Experiències, three hours with a guide from Bocairent: La Valleta on tarmac, 35 km, or Altos de Mariola on tracks, 38 km. From €65 per person for a couple to €44 in groups of eight. If you prefer to walk, drive to the Font de Mariola and do the 15 km variant of the cavas route and the Montcabrer.

### Saturday · 13:45 · Lunch at El Cancell
Market cooking with pericana and olleta de Bocairent, on Calle Sant Roc. Book by phone.

### Saturday · 17:00 · Covetes dels Moros
An hour with a guide, much of it on all fours, €4. Closed shoes and no backpack. Before or after, the old town: if Arquea has a tour that weekend, its two hours through the medieval quarter cost €12.

### Sunday · At dawn · Balloon flight
Totglobo takes off from Bocairent over the Serra de Mariola Natural Park. The tourist office lists it at €209, with a cava toast, breakfast, certificate, photos and video. The time is set by the company depending on the season.

### Sunday · 12:00 · Bullring in the rock
The oldest bullring in the Comunitat, from 1844, carved into the hillside. Tours on Sundays at 12:00, 12:30, 13:00 and 13:30, €3.

### Sunday · 14:00 · Lunch and the drive back
El Cancell or La Parada, in the old station, and home in mid-afternoon.

## Un consejo más

Book the balloon with some margin and ask what happens if the wind does not allow flying: that way you know whether an open date suits you.

## Cuándo no ir

Arriving on Sunday morning for the balloon: the flight is at dawn and from Valencia that means leaving in the dark.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hotel L'Estació**: 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**: 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**: 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.