ROUTE IN THE BERNIA MOUNTAINS
It is a circular route marked as PR-CV7 of medium difficulty that surrounds the mountains passing through the Fort (Fort) of Bernia, the Houses of Bernia, the Forat (Hole).
SECTION FONT DEL RUNAR – FORT DE BERNIA
One of the options is starting it from the Font del Runar on the south side, which you can reach a few meters from it leaving the car in a nearby water tank, we will start to climb towards the Font del Runar through a path with a steep slope, once we reach the source, the access to the source is surprising, which is inside a small enclosure that is accessed by opening an iron door, normally not much water comes out of it, once there we will continue the path to the Fuerte de Bernia and after about 15 minutes of walking after crossing some loose stones we will arrive at the Fort not without first having appreciated the imposing profile of the mountains.
Once in the Fuerte, we can take a short break enjoying the views of the Marina Baixa, as well as the ruins of the fortress, this fortress was built by order of Reu Felipe II in 1562 to defend against Ottoman attacks.
STRONG SECTION OF BERNIA – HOUSES OF BERNIA
Continuing along the path we will arrive at the pass that separates the Sierra de Bernia and the Morro de l’Aspre, continuing we will go around the mountain range until we reach a track that will take us to the Houses of Bernia, where there are some restaurants, since these houses can be accessed by road from Xalò.
SECTION HOUSES OF BERNIA – FONT DE BERNIA
Later on and following the indications of a wooden post we will choose the direction of Font de Bernia, Forat, after a few minutes on foot we will arrive at the beautiful Fuente de Bernia where we can stock up on water.
TRAMO FONT DE BERNIA – FORAT
From this point the ascent to Forat begins along a marked route in which you can not get lost since the path is well marked. We will go up at the beginning not too steep, which will change as we get closer to the walls of the mountains, in the Ascent there are a couple of sections in which you have to even climb, but it will not be in vain since at the end of the ascent we will reach the forat, which is a gallery carved out of the rock in Muslim times connecting the shady and sunny areas.
sunny areas. To cross the gallery you will have to squat or crawl since the height does not allow you to stand, once we have crossed the Forat and before leaving there is a cave where you can already appreciate the wonderful landscape of the Marina Baixa.
SECTION FORAT – FONT DEL RUNAR
Now we will continue the path continuing underneath the walls of the south side of the mountain range until afterwards we begin to lose height little by little crossing several stone (in Valencian runes) until we reach the intersection where Font del Runar or Fort de Bernia is indicated, so going down the path indicated by the Font del Runar we will arrive at our starting point having completed the impressive route.
ROUTE FONT DE L’ARBRE – CIMA DE AITANA
This excursion that goes from the Font (natural spring) of l’Arbre to the top of Aitana runs along 10 km of track and footpath, its unevenness being 350m so its difficulty is not high, more so mediem. The time it takes to travel this route (PR-CV20) is around 3 hours. To start the route there are several options but the most common is from the Font de l’Arbre, which is accessed by car from Confrides.
FONT DE L’ARBRE – FONT DE FORATA
Before setting off and after having seen the indicative panel where you can see the route of our route (PR-CV20), once we know the direction to take, we will start the walk by passing a chain which prevents the access of vehicles, soon on track, in front we will find ourselves surrounded by pine trees, which prevent us from seeing the mountain walls, little by little the pine trees will disappear and we will be able to contemplate more landscapes, until we find the indicative panel of the direction to take to head towards the Pas de la Rabosa, once heading in this direction, we can already see Font de Forata with its seven levels from which animals can drink, this natural spring is the highest in the Province of Alicante, 1400 m.
FONT DE FORATA– CIMA DE AITANA
After stocking up on water at the natural spring, we will start our way to the top, where we can contemplate the views of the landscape with the Serrella mountain range on the left. In this section of the trail there are several small wooden signs indicating the name of various plants and native shrubs so that hikers know them better, following the path there will be some sections in which you will have to climb, and a few hundred meters ahead we will reach Pas de la Rabosa (Foz crossing) where we will cross two narrow steps between the rocks continuing along the path until you reach a crossroads where there is a sign indicating the way to Benifato, another Pas de la Rabosa, which is where we come from, but the path to the top is not signposted, and the latter will be the one we will choose.
Once at this point and walking towards the top we will be able to contemplate the already impressive views of the region, when we reach the top we will find a stone
mound on the highest rock that will give way to the deserved rest after the ascent to appreciate the views of the landscapes highlighting the Puig Campana, Ponoig, Bernia, Xorta, Almedia, Serrella; as well as the bays of Benidorm and Altea.