Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Agres

What to see and do in Agres (El Comtat, Alicante): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 1 Nature · 2 Activities

How far each place is from the centre of Agres

Mountain range of Mariola (vertiente de Agres) 3.9 km

Towns near Agres

What to see in Alfafara 3.6 km · 5 places
What to see in Agullent 5.4 km · 5 places
What to see in Benissoda 6 km · 2 places
What to see in Atzeneta d'Albaida 6.3 km · 1 place
What to see in Albaida 6.4 km · 6 places
What to see in Muro de Alcoy 6.9 km · 15 places
What to see in Cocentaina 7.7 km · 16 places
What to see in Carrícola 7.8 km · 2 places

Spain › Valencian Community › Alicante › El Comtat › Agres

What to see and do in Agres

Agres
Village
Agres is a mountain municipality of the Condado de Cocentaina, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, with 623 inhabitants, between the Sierra de Mariola and that of Agullent, with a steep, well-preserved old quarter, rich in cold-water springs. Inhabited since the Palaeolithic, as shown by sites such as the Cova Beneito and the Cabezo de Mariola, with Roman pottery and coins from the 1st century. After James I's conquest in 1245, King John I sold Agres and its castle in 1388 to his steward Andreu Guillem Escrivá, later passing to the counts of Cocentaina and of Cirat. Tradition places in 1484 the Marian apparition that gave rise to the sanctuary of the Mare de Déu del Castell, beside the castle beneath Montcabrer; the Sierra de Mariola holds the Cava Gran, a 17th-18th-century snow well.
Mountain range of Mariola (vertiente de Agres)
Nature
The Agres side forms part of the Sierra de Mariola Natural Park, shared between the comarcas of El Comtat and L'Alcoià and declared a natural park on 8 January 2002, with 17,257 hectares between the provinces of Alicante and Valencia. In the municipality of Agres lies the Teixera d'Agres micro-reserve, the southernmost tile works in Europe, and the sanctuary of the Mare de Déu del Castell, on the slopes of the range. The park is home to around 1,200 plant species, with Aleppo pine woods and mixed forests of ash and maple, and its herbs are distilled into herbero, an aniseed liqueur with a designation of origin. Its highest peak, the Montcabrer, reaches 1,390 metres.
Church of San Miguel de Agres
Monument
Renaissance parish church of Agres, one of the main heritage buildings in the comarca of El Comtat.
Festivities of Agres
Activity
Agres celebrates its patronal festivities with a pilgrimage to the Santuario de la Mare de Déu del Castell, beneath the Montcabrer, where tradition places the apparition of the Marian image in 1484; Franciscan friars settled there in the 16th century.
Cava Gran (Cava Arquejada) de la Serra de Mariola
Monument
A former snow well built between the 17th and 18th centuries in the Serra de Mariola, used to produce ice until the early 20th century and notable today for a yew tree growing inside it.
Ascent of Montcabrer from Agres
Activity
The ascent to Montcabrer from Agres follows one of the classic hiking routes of the Serra de Mariola to the summit of the mountain, the highest point of the natural park at 1390 metres of altitude and the third highest peak in the province of Alicante. Its name recalls the shepherds who used to take their goats up to graze on its slopes. The path crosses pine forests to the ruins of the Mas de Llopis, from where a well-marked trail reaches the summit in about 45 minutes.
Shrine of la Mare de Déu del Castell
Monument
Tradition places in 1484 the apparition of the Marian image that gave rise to the sanctuary raised below the Montcabrer, beside the remains of the castle. Franciscan friars settled there in the sixteenth century and the pilgrimage festival still brings together the towns of the Mariola.