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La Plana de Jávea: where is it, what to see and what to do

November 01 from 2020 - 01: 00

La Plana or Les Planes de Xàbia is an area located between the Montgo and Cape San Antonio: the plateau through which the Montgó descends until it reaches the sea. La Plana is a part of Jávea with its own entity, with a landscape and different customs.

For most of the information, we have relied on the work of Ferran Zurriaga i Agustí, "La Plana, terra del llebeig", edited by the Xàbia Town Hall.

Where is it and how to get there

La Plana stretches between the Montgó to the west, the ravines and the sea to the north, the lighthouse and Cabo de San Antonio to the east, and the mills to the south. Within the La Plana area there are several "subzones": the central part is the la Flat of San Jerónimo (Flat Sant Jeroni), at the foot of Montgó, the Fair Flat, and as it descends towards the sea, the Plan of the Creu, Degollat ​​plain and entering the term of Dénia, the Tower Plan.

To get there you have to take the road from Jávea to Dénia, and take the detour towards Cabo de San Antonio, which is like the "main street" of La Plana.

Features

The landscape consists mainly of pine, cypress and almond trees. With a lot of stone, present in the architecture of the houses, in the walls, in the ditches, on the side of the roads. The houses were not plastered, so the stone was seen. The silhouette of Montgó, always vigilant, is also an important part of the environment, along with the sea and the cliffs.

What to see

In this area of ​​Xàbia there are a series of key places that are worth knowing. We make a list and a short explanation of each one.

The mills

There are 11 windmills, of which three are municipal. Its function was to grind wheat. One of them is from the XNUMXth century, and the others are from the XNUMXth century. They are shaped like large cylinders approximately seven meters high and six meters in diameter. They consist of two floors: the ground floor was used as a warehouse, and the upper floor was where it was ground. This upper level was supported by a rough vault that housed the hollow wood mechanisms that moved the stone grinding wheels and supported the blades. All of this disappeared at the end of the XNUMXth century. Right now you can see them, but without cover and as we have said, without blades.

The lighthouse

El Cape San Antonio lighthouse He is the great watchman of this area. This construction is not open to visitors at the moment, but it is planned to turn it into an interpretation center for the Marine Reserve and the Montgó Natural Park.

The Cape and the Marine Reserve

El Cap de Sant Antoni It is an emblematic cape, one of the easternmost points of the Iberian Peninsula, surpassed by the Cap de la Nau. Its cliffs rise more than 150 meters above sea level and at its feet is the Cabo de San Antonio Marine Reserve.

The Monastery of Our Lady of the Angels

El La Plana Monastery It has a long history of rebuilding and remodeling. It was a spirituality center that brought together a community of Jerónimos in the fourteenth century, who were already installed in La Plana, specifically on the walls of the cape, in the so-called Coves Santes.

The carabinieri barracks

La Plana is a strategic place from which you can control a large area of ​​the coast. For this reason, to monitor smuggling and avoid landings, this barracks was installed here in the XNUMXth century. Practically every family plane it had a carabinero among its members. But it fell into disuse after 1940, when the carabinieri were integrated into the Civil Guard corps. It is currently in ruins, but has been acquired by the Javea Town Hall to give it a new use.

Lime kilns

Lime has been used until relatively recently (mid-twentieth century), as a building material and to paint and disinfect walls. Until that moment, there had been 54 lime kilns in Jávea, 10 of them in La Plana. Right now, there are only four lime kilns that can be visited, and two of them are in La Plana: the The Faroles, so called because it was near the house of the family that was in charge of the lighthouse, and the La Plana mill.

The operation was as follows: the interior of the furnace was filled with wood, and limestone was burned until it was converted into calcium oxide, known as quicklime. The calcine he watched this process day and night to keep the fire going.

What to do

Hiking routes

  • Route from the Torre del Gerro to the Mills: this route is a short and affordable itinerary. It leaves from Dénia and runs through La Plana to the mills. Here you have more details.
  • Route from the Port of Jávea to the top of Montgó: this itinerary covers the whole of La Plana and is much longer and more complicated, because it reaches the top of Montgo. Discover all the information.

Furthermore, the Xàbia Tourism Department organize routes. You have more information by calling Tourism offices: 965794356, 965790736 and 966460605.

The Plana de Sant Jeroni recreational area

It is a picnic area in the Natural Park. It is on the left side of the La Plana road, in the direction of the lighthouse. It is a picnic area with tables, many in the shade. There is a fountain and you can see beautiful views.

Own parties

Around August 2, the day of Our Lady of the Angels, the La Plana festivals. The most characteristic, the pilgrimage and the brotherhood dinners.

Comments
  1. Godofredo says:

    The carabinieri barracks were active, at least, until the early 50s and two or three families of civil guards lived there; I would pass by and say hello to them, on my excursions to Cova Tallá and als Barrancs dels Castellets, La Rabossa, etc. They were very beautiful walks, wild and with beautiful views of the sea and at the end you end up in it.
    The vegetation has changed a lot, then there were fewer pines, rather scarce, and yes a lot of aromatic plants, Rosemary, Lavender, Thyme, etc., there was also a lot of Wild Blackberry and very good; and there were many terraces with almond trees and very varied vineyards, one, in particular, caught my attention because it produced a grape with coarse grains and a strawberry-red color, which was not very tasty but was very attractive. The lime kilns worked and the fuel was the surrounding bushes, which favored the cleaning of the mountain. You could see the occasional small herd of goats, more than one fox and very large lizards that they called fardachos (and that I haven't seen for years). I have gone through August storms with lightning and thunder that made you jump on edge and people would go into the little houses scared to death, because you had them two feet from your head. The "planeros" knew each other and dealt with each other, something like a caste and the meeting point was the hermitage, especially on Sunday.
    In short, old memories of my stays in La Plana at my uncle Ximo's house, which was the most planning of all.

    • Carlos A. Da says:

      Good Morning.
      My name is Carlos and I live in the flat.
      I would love to have a Coffee with You! Do you accept
      My phone is: 679753761


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