Logbook · 9 places

What to see and do in Polop

What to see and do in Polop (La Marina Baixa, Alicante): 9 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 4 Monuments · 1 Nature · 2 Activities · 1 Historical milestones

When to go to Polop: festival calendar

August: Festivities of el Porrat de Polop (August)

How far each place is from the centre of Polop

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Spain › Valencian Community › Alicante › La Marina Baixa › Polop

What to see and do in Polop

Polop
Village
Polop is a municipality in La Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, which gave its name to and headed a barony created by James I of Aragon and granted to Lady Berenguela Alfonso de Castilla, which remained in the House of Aragon until 1430 and afterwards in the Fajardo family until the early 19th century; from it founding charters were granted and the water of the springs was administered until the abolition of the seigneuries. In 1090 the Cid Campeador conquered its castle of Muslim origin, and in 1258 the Arab leader Al-Azraq led an uprising there. It preserves that castle, a church built in 1723 that is the sanctuary of the Divina Aurora, and the Plaza de los Chorros, with its multi-spout fountain, beneath the rocky Sierra del Ponoig, 1,181 metres high.
Square of the Fountains of Polop
Monument
Historic square in the old town of Polop, with a characteristic multi-spout fountain, one of the most picturesque corners of the district. In the centre of the village, the fountain has as many as 221 water spouts, a figure that gives it its popular name of plaza de los Chorros.
Festivities of Polop
Activity
Polop (Alicante, La Marina Baixa) is home to the Santuario de la Divina Aurora, the devotion that gives its name to the town's patronal festivities, located opposite the church of San Pedro, built in 1723. The municipality also holds festivities in honour of San Francisco de Asís in early October and the fiestas del porrat, from 14 to 17 August, with street parades and musical performances organised by the local peñas.
Castle of Polop
Monument
The castle of Polop, a fortress of Muslim origin built in the early 12th century and conquered by the Cid Campeador in 1090, follows its almost circular ground plan to fit the top of the hill on which it stands. It once had two defensive enclosures, of which stretches of masonry and rammed-earth (tapial) wall survive today; inside, a cistern and a square tower remain. The outer wall is barely preserved because, for much of the 20th century, it served as the access route to the village cemetery. Declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) on 23 June 1997, it is today one of the leading heritage landmarks of the Marina Baixa.
Church of San Pedro y Santuario de la Divina Aurora
Monument
Church of Polop built in 1723, dedicated to San Pedro, and sanctuary of the Divina Aurora. The sanctuary of the Divina Aurora stands directly opposite the church of San Pedro, the two buildings together forming the main religious complex of the municipality.
Spring of los 221 caños de Polop
Monument
System of public fountains in the central square of Polop, made up of 221 spouts.
Mountain range of el Ponoig
Nature
Mount Ponoig is a rocky, steep sierra 1,181 metres high, located west of Polop in the La Marina Baixa comarca (Alicante), and it dominates the landscape of the municipality. It forms a massif running east to west, with very steep slopes covered in long scree fields and rock walls; its shaded north face is covered with pine forest and holm oaks and it continues on into the Sierra del Puig Campana.
Festivities of el Porrat de Polop
Activity
August festival of Polop with parades, comparsas (costumed groups) and musical performances: the porrat is held on 14, 15, 16 and 17 August. Numerous festival peñas (social clubs) take part in street parades, the offering and the comedy parade, and at night orchestras and charanga bands perform.
The barony of Polop
Historical milestone
The barony of Polop was a seigneurial jurisdiction around the castle of Polop, granted around 1268 to Berenguela Alfonso and around 1275 to Bertran de Bellpuig; it passed later to Rodrigo Díaz de Mendoza, who in 1430 bought the barony of Benidorm from John II of Navarre, and through successive marriages to the Fajardo, Puixmarín-Rocafull, Teijeiro, Valda and Bernuy families, in whose hands it remained until the abolition of the seigneuries in the 19th century. Its territory, in the comarca de la Marina, stretched from the rivers Guadalest and Algar to the municipal area of Villajoyosa, and included the beaches of Albir and Benidorm. It took the name Polop because its castle was the most suitable stronghold for defence; from here settlement charters were granted and the water of the springs was administered.