Montgó Natural Park

The Montgó is a limestone massif of 753 metres that rises directly from the Mediterranean between the towns of Dénia and Jávea in the Marina Alta district of Alicante. Its 2,117 protected hectares span from the summit to the coastal cliffs of Cape San Antonio and include a marine reserve extending 400 metres offshore. The north face drops towards Dénia in slopes of scrub and pine; the south descends more steeply towards Jávea, ending in 100-metre cliffs over the sea. On clear days the view from the top stretches along the coast from Cape la Nao to northern Valencia, and in the opposite direction the outline of Ibiza is faintly visible roughly 90 km away. Salt air rising from the cliffs mingles with the scent of rosemary and gorse that clothe the slopes, a blend that accompanies every metre of the climb.

Geologically the Montgó is a platform of folded Cretaceous limestone that differential erosion has sculpted into a prow shape when seen from the sea. On the south face the rock fractures into towers and pinnacles equipped by climbers with over 100 sport routes. At the base of the sea cliffs, freshwater caves such as the Cova Tallada — a former sandstone quarry now partially flooded — connect the massif's karst interior with the sea. The seabed off Cape San Antonio holds Posidonia oceanica meadows between 5 and 25 metres depth, an ecosystem that supports biomass three times greater than that of the neighbouring sandy bottoms.

Vegetation reflects the transition between the thermo- and meso-Mediterranean zones. On south-facing lower slopes, dwarf fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) — the only palm native to mainland Europe — thrives alongside kermes oak, mastic and scattered carob trees. On shaded, wetter ground, holm oak, manna ash and strawberry tree form a dense copse where filtered light reaches a leaf-litter floor. On the wind-battered ridges and summit, vegetation thins to creeping thyme, lavender and the endemic Carduncellus dianius (Dénia thistle), a blue-flowered composite found only on this massif and a handful of Marina Alta sites.

Terrestrial fauna includes Bonelli's eagle — one breeding pair on the south-face cliffs — eagle owl, genet, badger and a dense wild-boar population that has increasingly clashed with surrounding farmland. The marine reserve holds grouper, white seabream, brown meagre and octopus, plus the Posidonia meadows that function as juvenile nurseries. Notable reptiles include the Iberian wall lizard and the Iberian skink, and several colonies of long-fingered bat breed in the coastal caves.

The main hiking access is the north-face trail from the Les Planes recreation area in Dénia: 6.5 km with 650 m of elevation gain, roughly three hours up. The Cova Tallada is reached from Les Rotes (Dénia) via an 800-metre coastal path that from 15 June to 15 September requires a free advance booking to cap numbers at 78 people at a time. Jávea supplies the beaches and coves that round off the day: La Granadella, Portitxol and Cala de la Barraca are all within a 15-minute drive.