Benasau

The stone walls start before you've properly entered Benasau. They're not decorative—they're the same dry-stone terraces that locals built centuries ago to coax almonds, olives and grapes from the Comtat mountainsides. At 701 metres above sea level, this is farming country masquerading as a village, where the agricultural UNESCO heritage stretches right to the doorstep.

Morning Light and Ancient Walls

British visitors expecting whitewashed coastal Spain should recalibrate. The houses here are stone and ochre render, built for winter cold rather than summer photo opportunities. Streets spiral upward from the single village bar, narrow enough that you'll fold in your wing mirrors if you've hired anything bigger than a Fiesta. The parish church's modest bell tower marks the highest point; from here, the view runs across a patchwork of hand-built terraces that would make any Cotswold dry-stoner weep with respect.

Morning is when Benasau makes sense. Mist pools in the valley below until sunlight burns it off, revealing the limestone ridge of the Serrella range. Farmers head out on ancient tracks between almond groves; the only soundtrack is boots on gravel and the occasional chainsaw. Come back at midday in August and it's a different story—heat shimmers off stone, shade is currency, and even the village cats have sense to retreat indoors.

Walking Papers

The serious business here is walking. A lattice of old mule paths links Benasau to neighbouring towns—Penàguila, Alcocer de Planes, Famorca—none more than 10 kilometres away through pine and holm-oak. Paths aren't way-marked like a National Trust route; instead look for painted slashes on stone or the tell-tale groove where generations have cut a channel for rainwater. Mobile signal drops out within minutes, so download an offline map before leaving the bakery's Wi-Fi bubble.

A half-day circuit that works well for moderately fit walkers starts at the church, climbs past the water cistern, then contours along the south-facing terraces before dropping into the Barranc de l'Infern. You'll lose 300 metres of height on stone steps cut straight into the rock—knees will remind you about this later—before circling back via an old ice house. Allow three hours, take more water than you think necessary, and don't trust Google to estimate walking times; it hasn't factored in Spanish midday heat or the temptation to stop and photograph vultures riding thermals overhead.

What Actually Opens (and When)

Let's be honest about facilities. Benasau has one bar, one bakery, and a municipal sports centre that opens if the key-holder feels like it. The bakery sells excellent minxos—small sweet breads topped with cinnamon sugar—and stocks local honey in unlabelled jars that make perfect edible souvenirs. The bar serves coffee from 07:30, beer until 22:00 most nights, and can rustle up toasted sandwiches if you ask nicely. That's it. No cash machine, no supermarket, no Sunday opening. Bring cash; cards get refused as often as accepted.

For a proper meal you'll need to drive. Alcoy, 25 minutes down the CV-785, has restaurants serving arroz al horno—Valencia's answer to a roast-dinner casserole, baked with pork ribs and chickpeas in a clay dish. Pericana, a mild red-pepper and salt-cod spread, tastes better than it sounds and works brilliantly on breakfast toast if you've self-catering facilities.

Timing Your Visit

Spring delivers the goods. Almond blossom arrives late February or early March depending on altitude, turning terraces bridal-white for ten days. Temperatures sit in the high teens—perfect walking weather—and village houses open shutters for the first time since November. Autumn runs a close second, with olive harvest in full swing and the mountains flushed copper by turning oak leaves.

Summer is hot, dry and surprisingly noisy. August fiestas honour the village patron with fireworks that echo off the limestone amphitheatre until 03:00. It's authentic Spain, but light sleepers should book accommodation on the village edge or pack ear-plugs. Winter brings clear skies, frost on the terraces and the possibility you'll need chains for the final approach road—check weather before travelling.

Getting There, Staying There

Alicante airport to Benasau takes 75 minutes by hire car. Take the AP-7 north, peel off at junction 63, then follow the CV-770 and CV-785 into the mountains. Public transport is academic—the nearest train station is Alcoy, still 40 minutes by taxi (€55–70) up roads that would make a Valencian rally driver blink.

Accommodation is limited to two casas rurales. Casa Rural l'Era de Benasau occupies a restored 18th-century townhouse with stone staircases thick enough to withstand sieges. Each bedroom opens onto an internal courtyard where breakfast sunlight hits the walls at precisely the angle Spanish painters die trying to capture. The other option is Apartamento Rural Benasau—two flats above the bakery, handy for 07:30 coffee runs but expect delivery vans at dawn and the smell of fresh bread drifting through floorboards.

Book ahead, even for February. British walking groups have started using Benasau as a base for Serrella ridge routes, and weekend availability disappears months in advance.

The Honest Verdict

Benasau won't suit everyone. If you need evening entertainment beyond a cold beer and conversation with whoever's propping up the bar, stay on the coast. If you can't function without a cashpoint, supermarket or reliable mobile data, think twice. But for walkers, writers, or anyone who's ever fantasised about swapping commuter trains for stone terraces and silence, it delivers something increasingly rare: a Spanish mountain village that still functions for locals first, visitors second. Come prepared, tread quietly, and the place might just let you in on its secret—that real life continues up here, 700 metres above the Costa Blanca package tours, alarmingly unaffected by whatever's trending on Instagram this week.