The Trident speaks with The Sentinel in the middle of the night while The Slingshot is enveloped by the sound of ancient ditches. We could be talking about any cool talk along the Mediterranean coast but the truth is that La Pipa Real, El Araceli and La Bonica are some of the 200,000 palm trees that line one of the many routes through Elx.
Founded as an Iberian city in the 5th century BC, Elx would become from the 8th century AD on the great orchard of the Mediterranean thanks to a novel irrigation system developed during the Muslim domination. In fact, palm trees were planted to protect these crops at three heights: cereals, vegetables, fruit trees and, finally, date trees. Today, this sea of palm trees is just the beginning of the experience.
The city of Alicante -and the third largest in the Valencian Community- can boast of having three UNESCO heritage sites of different categories: natural (El Palmeral), cultural (Nit de l’Albà) and mixed (Pusol School Museum). A milestone resulting from a history as fascinating as it is exuberant. We get lost in a city that in summer is more of a refuge, more festive.
The city of Alicante.
Route through the Palmeral de Elx
In the Disney and Pixar movie Soul, one of the characters tells the protagonist the story of two fish that always asked for the route to the ocean, without knowing that they already lived in the water. This story acts as a perfect metaphor for the visitor who arrives in Elx: “Where will I find El Palmeral?” “Friend, it’s already in El Palmeral!”, they will tell him. Far from being an isolated area, this set of palm trees sprouts throughout a city swollen with secrets, old esparto baskets loaded with dates and workshops where the white palm is still handled today. 
Palmeral de Elx, listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
At the end of June, the caping of the palm tree is carried out, by means of which the leaves -palms- are tied to cover them with a sheath of branches -vellet-. Subsequently, this white palm tree is manipulated by the curling machines between October and Palm Sunday, when the people of Elche show their great pride during the famous “step of the burreta”.
By bicycle, tourist train or on foot, the best option is to take the circular path of Las Palmeras and lose yourself in the city
There we have orchards such as the Hort dels Pontos, a prelude to the Casa dels Pontos, built in 1900 and a perfect example of a traditional Elche house. Or the Hort del Sol, which once housed an old Arab cemetery. Go up to the Vaillo tower, built in the Middle Ages and a perfect viewpoint of the orchard watered by the Vinalopó River. The Altamira Palace and the Basilica of Santa María, residence of the lords of Elx between the 15th and 19th centuries and current extension of the Archaeological and History Museum of Elx (MAHE) or, especially, the Cura’s orchard.
Despite being the most touristic of all the orchards in El Palmeral, El Cura treasures a botanical charm halfway between an Indian jungle and an oasis in Merzouga: peacocks dwell among jujube, fig and lemon trees; and the sound of the fountains accompanies us while our gaze is lost in the sky and reminds us of that verse by Miguel Hernández who said “how tall I am to look at the palm trees”. In fact, you may at some point see one of the 100 palm trees still left in Elx perched on the top of a date palm. Farmers who still represent an ancient technique that the visitor can try for himself. The trick? Arm strength and don’t look down.
A hundred palm growers use ancestral techniques to care for the date palms of Elx.
“El Palmeral de Elx is the set of 90 palm orchards that we have in the city”, tells us the palm grower David Maciá, from the San Plácido orchard. “Palm orchards used to be our way of farming, but this way of life started to change about 150 years ago, when many peasants and farmers started working in the industry. Some orchards have been transformed into hotels or schools that today take their place among the palm trees, which are located on the sides while the terraces are divided into rectangular shapes, following the same pattern since the Middle Ages.”
Guadalest Castle, the villa hidden inside a rock
After trying to climb the palm tree on my own with little success, the train returns and the breeze brings the aroma of crusty rice, longanizas and beaten egg – more than a typical dish, an Elche religion in itself – and the gunpowder announcing upcoming verbenas.
Guadalest Castle.
The ‘Mystery of Elche’ and the Alba Night
Elx is best understood through the different cultures that have inhabited this land. The famous Lady of Elx, discovered in the nearby site of La Alcudia, belongs to the Iberian period; The Palmeral evokes the Muslim tradition, but the Misteri d’Elx is the universal festival that speaks of the Christian beginning of ancient Ilici.
Designated intangible heritage of humanity, the Misteri d’Elx was born as an enigma in itself, since even today it is difficult to decipher its origin. Some experts point to its birth during the Muslim domination itself, while others relate it to the presence of an ark with the Virgin Mary found in the vicinity of the nearby city of Santa Pola in 1354. In any case, it has the merit of being a liturgical drama that is celebrated following the same original rituals of the middle ages.
