Confrides - Fuente del Arbre - Fuente de Forata - Cumbre Aitana - Fuente de Forata - Fuente de Partagas - Confrides

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Distance: 5h50min/23km

Start out by walking on the main street some 40 meters. By the sign for the Arbre fountain (Font de L'Arbre) (785 m), turn right. Another 100 meters further you have a sign for Puerto de Tudons. When the road forks, go right uphill (5min). Follow the white-yellow waymarks.

The narrow asphalt road lined with flowers, orchards, meadows and pine woods snakes its way up to the Arbre fountain (1h20min) (1170m), where you find signs for the top of Aitana (Cumbre Aitana) and Benifato.

The track from the Arbre fountain towards the top of Aitana slopes uphill through a pine forest and rose bushes. The ground flora consists of colorful tussocks and salvia. On your way you encounter also ice houses. One of them lies close to the vertical rock wall crowned by antennas, on the opposite side of the track. In the old days, these deep round buildings served as ice storages. Ignore a fork left downhill (2h05min) (1400 m) and soon after that another that goes right uphill.

At the Forata fountain (Font Forata) (2h10min) (1370m) you find another ice house and a sign for the top of Aitana. Take the path that starts at the upper end of the water pipe. Try to follow the white-yellow waymarks and stay on the well beaten path. It starts easy but gets more trying. You have to climb over big bolders, and go through an opening in the rock wall called Pas de la Rabosa to the top of one projecting part of the mountain (2h35min) (1470 m), then descend to a junction where you turn right. Behind you the top of Puig Campana seems to float in the air. The path leads to the top of the main projection with antennas (2h55min) (1550m).

Since Aitana is the highest mountain of Costa Blance you enjoy fantastic views over all other great peaks of the region. If the weather is clear, the panorama reaches over the Alcoi as far as Montcabrer. In the northern side of the Guadalest valley  you can see the mountain range of Aixorta.

In addition to the path that you came up there are at least two other paths that you can return to Font Forata. As you can see from the top both of these paths are much steeper than the one you came up. On your way back to the Forata fountain visit the clefts of Partagas (Simas del Partagas) that you can find on both sides of the junction wheere you turn left.

When you are back at Font Forata (3h30min), turn right on a track signposted for Benifato. Again, pay attention to the white-yellow waymarks. At the first fork (3h32min), go left, and, at the second (3h35min), go right. The track peters out into a path (3h40min) (1300 m). When it forks, go left, and soon you come to the Mandas fountain (3h45min) (1260 m). On your way down the landscape varies from bushy natural lands to rocky terrain.

At the next fork (3h48min) (1250 m), go right. The path descends to a track on which you turn left (4h05min) (1125 m). Ignore the track that forks left (4h10min) (1085 m). Soon you come to a signposted track. Turn left to the Partagas fountain (Font Partagas) (4h20min) (1040 m). If you take this route in spring time, you can admire the pink almond groves on your right, down in the plains of  Alomes and Albirec.

At the Partagas fountain start walking on a narrow asphalt road signposted to Benifato. Soon the reddish walls of Partagas rise in front of you. When this road meets another narrow asphalt road (4h40min) (860 m), turn left. Now you have a closer look at the towns of Benifato, Benimantell and Guadalest. At the next junction (4h55min) (815 m), go left uphill. The road keeps ascending for a while. When it starts descending towards Confrides you see the Castle of Benifato on your left.

When the road forks (5h30min) (835 m), go right. Descend to the CV-70 (5h40min) (740 m), and turn left. Walk on the CV-70 back to Confrides (5h50min).