L’Albufera is now even closer!
Now that it is spring, the weather is simply perfect to ride our bicycles… after a long and rainy autumn and a very cold winter, unusual for Valencia! A long time ago, we described to you the old route to get to El Saler and then L’Albufera. At last, the local council has invested some money in a necessary bike path to our most beloved natural space. It’s time to go and cycle to check out these amazing places without risking our health cycling between the cars.
The old riverbed is the best starting point, because the bike path to Pinedo and El Saler begins in Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, out of the riverbed and opposite from the El Saler commercial mall. We have to cycle to get out of town, parallel to Camino de las Moreras; the bike path is new, and it is in good conditions, they did a good job. All we have to do is follow the bike path, and we’ll arrive first at Pinedo, a really nice place to stop and have a drink. Pinedo was a little fishermen’s village, now you can enjoy a lovely promenade full of restaurants and bars. Once we leave Pinedo, we’ll get into the natural protected area of El Saler.
El Saler is the most beautiful jewel of Valencia. You can admire the incredible pine tree forest, full of bushes and typical Mediterranean plants, or enjoy the wonders of the long beach. In the ‘70s, some builders tried to make a new Benidorm in this natural area. Luckily for the next generations, it was stopped in time and you can see some high buildings of apartments there, witnesses of that old project. There is also a long promenade with more bars and restaurants and perfect places to eat or have a drink. But there are some other places if you want to taste more local and amazing dishes…
If you want to keep on with your ride and get to L’Albufera, you’ve got to find the village of El Saler. In the village, you can find a place where you can eat one of the best dishes from the area, ‘arròs amb fesols i nap amb fotxa de L’Albufera’, a delicious rice with duck, turnip and butter beans. The place is called El Pote, and it’s in the last line of buildings of the village, just opposite a little park.
When you are cycling from the beach to the village of El Saler, you’ll find the Valencia to Cullera asphalt road and there’s a bike path running side by side to it that leads you to El Palmar and L’Albufera. The first part of the bike path will find us in the place we were talking about before… that amazing forest, and then we’ll get into the marshes, changing the landscape.
El Palmar was an island in the distant past, when L’Albufera was more like an interior sea than a lake. Now it’s a third of the size it was in the 19th century and its land belongs to 13 different town councils. You have to arrive at El Palmar, where you can find an information centre and some restaurants with a good choice of local dishes. If you want to have an unforgettable boat trip with one of the best local guides, you can contact Ecoturismo Coll-Vert (00 34 619 604 440).
This route is perfect for a whole day. The distance is not long, because it’s about 23 kms from Valencia to El Palmar and there are a lot of interesting things to see. It’s something you can’t miss.
Orange Bikes
Editor Manuel Aguilar,1
Valencia 46001
96 3917551
Leave a comment