Tourism
7 suggestions to enjoy the Palmeral of Elche
Elche, the city of palm trees
It is impossible to imagine Elche without its palm trees. They have been tied to each other from the beginning to end up making an inextricable unit, which constitutes a unique cultural landscape, of an outstanding value and universal significance, it was declared World Heritage by the UNESCO in 2000.
The Palmeral of Elche has over 200,000 specimens, and in addition to be the largest one on Europe, it is unique all over the world because of the way it combines the agricultural exploitation with the production of the White Palm, the landscape value, the cultural symbolism and the interweaving of the urban network. It is the greatest natural heritage of Elche.
The discovery of fossilized date bones in this area of the Mediterranean appears to corroborate the theory that the palm tree was present in Elche from prehistoric ages. In any case, its final shape in the form of groves was provided by the Arabs, who created a landscape supported by irrigation which prevailed up to today.
The effort and determination of Elche’s people to preserve the Palmeral allowed us keeping palm groves once their cultivation stopped being economically profitable.
Many palm groves have been turned into public parks and other are preserved in their traditional form. In both cases, a series of suggestions have been designed to find out their origin and evolution, as well as to enjoy them in their entire splendor.
- Palm grove route
- Palm grove museum
- The Outstanding Palm Trees route
- Palm grove way (PR-CV 439)
- Elche Palmeral Aventuras
- Municipal Park
- Huerto del Cura National Artistic Garden
For further information about each of these suggestions visit the website www.visitelche.com
