Xativa, Elche and Palm Grove

DISCOVER THE DREAM CORNERS OF THE VALENCIAN COMMUNITY

In this excursion we are going to visit the emblematic and very famous sites: Xátiva with its Castle and Elche with its incredible Palm Grove.

Itinerary:

- We will leave in the morning and we will make our first stop in Xátiva.
- Then we will continue our way to Elche and visit the Palmeral first.
- Then we will continue visiting Elche.
- After visiting this charming city we return to Valencia.

 

Elche was founded in the 7th century BC by the Greeks on the site of an ancient Iberian settlement. The city lost its importance during the Arab rule in Spain. However, the Arabs left us the most interesting heritage monument in Elche, a man-made palm plantation, which is nowadays protected by UNESCO. In the 19th century, the city went through the Industrial Revolution, becoming the center of the footwear industry in Spain.

Another object of tourist interest associated with the city is the famous "Lady of Elche". Monument that they found in one of the suburbs in 1897, and that is a stone bust of a woman with rich headdresses and peculiar haircut. At the moment it is in the National Archaeological Museum, but in Valencia there is a fund that is working on its return to Elche. Meanwhile there is a copy of the sculpture in one of the city's squares open to the public. It is the most important work of Iberian art in the world.



The Palm Grove of Elche - was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000 and is the largest expanse of palm trees in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It was created by the Muslims who occupied the Iberian Peninsula and although its current extension is smaller than it once had, its more than 200,000 specimens form an impressive "forest" that makes it one of the most important tourist stops in the region.