Desert de les Palmes Natural Park

Rocky natural park of pine and scrub behind Benicàssim

The Desert de les Palmes (Spanish: Desierto de las Palmas) is the 19-kilometre limestone range that rises sharply behind Benicàssim — a low but very rugged mountain ridge covered in pines, holm oak, dwarf palm and aromatic shrubs, with bare rock peaks above the tree line. The entire range is a protected natural park crossed by well-marked walking trails, and is the area's main hiking and panorama destination.

The road from Benicàssim winds up through the park to a ridge with the Carmelite monastery of the Desert de les Palmes, a small mirador with a sweeping view down to the coast, and a ruined castle of Moorish origin. Walking trails of every length lead from the road; the most popular climbs the bare summit of Bartolo, the range's highest peak at 729 metres, in about an hour each way.

things to do sight hiking
A story
The 'desert' has nothing to do with sand or aridity — it is the name the Discalced Carmelites gave to the wild retreat they founded here in 1697, after their tradition of contemplative monasteries in remote 'deserted' places. The original Carmelite monastery still stands at the top of the pass, with a small museum of liturgical objects and a working hermit community in its hillside cells.