More than 1000 kilometers of footpaths in the Costa Blanca mountains

2008-03-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

During the last 12 months we have been busy mapping the dozens of walks we have built up, over the 16 years of leading walks, in the mountains located behind the Costa Blanca, Alicante Spain. We now have 78 walks totally mapped with detailed walk descriptions covering in excesss of 1100 kms of footpaths through these glorious mountains.

Walks include short walks to suit most abilities, moderate walks and strenuous hill walking.

For the first time, we are able to provide a detailed route map service for those wishing to

walk these mountains on their own. The most comprehensive collection of walks to be found covering the Costa Blanca region? Possibly.

The many routes mapped, include in excess of 46,000 meters of ascent and descent. The work continues and we expect to have completed over 100 routes before the end of this year. All the walks have been GPS plotted and include detailed descriptions written by Jem Wilcox , who has over 30 years experience as a walks leader for both Ramblers and Waymark Holidays and has contributed to a number of walking guide books in the past.

You can learn more about this region and the mountain walks here . More information is available from Press Reports.

WAYMARK HOLIDAYS AT QUATRETONDETA

2007-12-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

Waymark Holidays have sadly ceased to exist after more than 35 years of offering excellent walking and winter holidays. Having been taken over from the original owners by First Choice Holidays a few years ago Waymark Holidays were finally absorbed by Exodus during 2007.
Many of Waymark's walking destinations are now no longer available via a UK tour operator. We at Els Frares , Quatretondeta offered one of their many guided walking holidays in Spain since 1996, and for 7 of the last 10 years we are proud to have been their most successful and popular guided walking destination.
Our holidays appeared in the Waymark brochure as merely Quatretondeta and once taken over, the holiday name was changed to " Les Valls de la Marina " walking. These holidays continue to run and are offered directly by us at Els Frares . This does have some benefits in that our walking holidays not only continue to offer great value for money, it also allows travellers to make their own flight arrangements to Alicante from their nearest regional airport, avoiding long and costly transfers to London airports.
During 2008 Els Frares is offering its most extensive guided and self guided walking holiday programme yet. There are many more dates and these walking holidays along with other activity holidays in the beautiful mountains of the Valencia community , Spain are available via our mountainwalks.com brand name and web site. This web site is up dated with availability and offers on a regular basis. We also try to publish photo's taken on each weeks walk ; these can be seen by visiting the mountain walks picture gallery. Walking in Spain is gaining popularity each year and our holidays continue to have a high level of guest satisfaction. Independent reviews of our walking holidays in Spain are available from the responsibletravel.com web site.

Independent hotel reviews of Hotel Els Frares can be found on the Trip Advisor web site.

The mountains of Alicante offer a great walking destination for 10 months of the year. The photograph above was taken of a Waymark walking group approaching the Sierra Benicadell in mid February through almond terraces in blossom. The left hand photograph was taken early on a late November morning from the Sierra Serrella looking towards the Sierra Bernia and the Costa Blanca coast.

Not only is the region hidden behind the Costa Blanca a great location of walks for all abilities , our accommodation and base at Hotel Els Frares has gained an international reputation for comfortable , welcoming accommodation with great food. Vegetarians and special diets are well catered fo too .

Most of our holiday dates offer 2 grades of walking each day. It allows you to choose each day whether to take a moderate or strenuous walk. Our walks are led by a highly experienced team of guides:-

Donal McCaffrey - Lives locally and has a number of years experience under his belt. When not leading for us he leads for Explore Holidays in Central and South America , and Africa, where is has clocked up around 8 years of experience. Donal is also a fluent Spanish and French speaker with a excellent knowledge of wild flowers.

Oscar Juan - A local lad from the near by town of Cocentaina . Oscar has led with us for over 2 years now and has a knowledge of the local culture and history that only a local can possess. Oscar has just returned from a strenuous spell in the Pyrennees where he has obtained his full European Alpine leaders qualification.

Jem Wilcox - Jem has accumulated around 30 years of experience leading walking parties for both Ramblers Holidays and Waymark Holidays. He will also be leading for Exodus in the Alps during the summer of 2008 when we have our close season. Jem is responsible for finally getting all the route information we have accumulated over the 15 years of walking in these mountains, onto to paper. Over 50 of our walks now have GPS plotted maps with detailed route descriptions. Thanks Jem , I have been planning to do this for almost 10 years now and have never found the time.

Pat, Brian and Tom Fagg who established the business back in 1993 are also involved in leading the walks.

It would be hard to find a more experienced and knowledgable team of walks leaders anywhere.

Visit our walking in Spain website, mountainWALKS.com

Take a look at Hotel Els Frares

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