Guadalest and the almond valleys

In 1609, after the expulsion of the Moriscos, Guadalest lost much of its population yet kept its Moorish fortress clinging to a limestone spur at 587 m, guarding the passes into the interior. Today the village watches over a turquoise reservoir carved in the 1960s, ringed by almond and carob trees. Just 25 km from Alicante, January brings a brief blaze of white blossom, while lanes climb to the Alcozaiba tower and the quirky Micro-Gigantes Museum—oddities even frequent Costa Blanca visitors may have missed.

Your driver handles the flow: hotel pickup in Alicante in a comfortable Mercedes, flexible pauses, coordinated waiting times. You taste almond turrón in Callosa d’en Sarrià, secure a lunch table in Guadalest, then slip to the Algar waterfalls 20 minutes away while the car is repositioned. With a private chauffeur in Alicante province, vantage points, old mills and dry-stone terraces link up smoothly. The vehicle stays at your disposal for a return via Polop’s springs or a detour to the Confrides pass if the light turns golden.