Home English blogs Surrounded by palm trees: The Palmeral of Elche

Surrounded by palm trees: The Palmeral of Elche

door Travelwriter.nl
De palmtuinen van Elche

It seems like the old Spanish city of Elche is built in the middle of a palm grove. Everywhere you are surrounded by palm trees. The Palmeral of Elche was originally built by the Arabs when they settled in Elche. Today it is UNESCO World Heritage and one of the largest palm gardens in the world!

The Spanish city of Elche

The Spanish city of Elche is just over 20 kilometers from Alicante. It is a small but nice town to wander around. Visit the beautiful Basílica de Santa María, where you can climb the tower for a beautiful view of the city. Explore little squares where you can drink a cool glass of wine or visit restaurants with tempting menus.

The Spanish city of Elche

And also palm trees. A lot of palm trees

The city was founded by the Arabs around the 10th century. They surrounded the city with date palms and laid an ingenious irrigation system to provide the trees in the dry landscape with water. The palms produced dates and the shady terraces were used for growing fruit and vegetables, such as pomegranates. The trees are still there. There are about 200,000 of them, actually, and together they are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This palm orchard is a rare example of Arab agricultural practices in Europe.

Palmeral of Elche, Spain

Palmeral de Elche

The Palmeral de Elche consists of 97 different orchards inside and outside the city. Most of the palms are on the banks of the river Vinalopó and some of the palm groves have now been turned into city parks. And so nowadays you walk through a Spanish town, in a sea of palm trees, but also olive trees, lemon trees, pomegranate trees and all kinds of cacti. A nice Mediterranean town with a wonderful exotic atmosphere.

Flowers in the Palmeral of Elche
Date palms in Elche

Nice to know about the Palmeral de Elche in Spain:

  • In the city of Elche you will find around 70,000 date palms. No less than 200,000 in the entire landscape around the city.
  • This is the largest date palm plantation in Europe.
  • The current irrigation system is still the same as the original irrigation channels!
  • There are some hiking trails in Elche, the Sendero del Palmeral, from 2.5 kilometers to 10 kilometers long, which take you to the most beautiful places of the Palmeral de Elche.
  • There are several museums (the Museo del Palmeral or Museo Arqueológico y de Historia de Elche) where you can learn even more about the city and its surroundings.
  • A trip to Elche? You can spend the night in the middle of the palm trees! For example at Huerta del Cura or Jardín Milenio.
Palmeral of Elche
The city of Elche in Spain

We recommend Alicante

Combine your visit to Elche with a city trip to Alicante. Relax on one of the white sandy beaches, visit the medieval fortress towering over the city or stroll through the Mediterranean old-town with whitewashed houses and cobblestone streets.

Palmeral de Elche
Palmeral of Elche or (in Spanish) Palmeral de Elche

Disclaimer: this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase via one of these links, travelwriter.nl will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Meer lezen:

1 comment

Lizzie | Globalizious 30 juni 2018 - 12:27

This seems like a lovely place!! Ive been in Spain a lot, but have never seen this. Ill keep it in mind for maybe next trips!

Reply

Laat een bericht achter!