In the mountains of Alicante province, high up in the Sierra Mariola, you’ll find the realm of the nevaters. The icemen.
In the centuries before refrigeration, these were the workers who supplied the precious ice that kept everything and everybody cool, even in the heat of a Spanish summer.
During the winter, the nevaters gathered the snow and stored it in huge caverns hacked out of the rock. There it compacted and turned to ice. Then in the summer, they dug it out and sent it down to the towns in the valleys below.
Packed carefully to minimise melting, a surprising amount of it survived the journey – enough to form the basis of a thriving ice trade all over the area.
In the Comunidad Valenciana alone, there were more than 300 of these neveras or depositos de nieve (snow stores). And the most impressive is the Cava Gran, 1,200 metres (3,500 ft) up above the little village of Agres, which is where we’re headed.
To reach it is a stiff climb up the valley through pinewoods, but the views from the top are breathaking. When I finally made it to the top, I met a group of guys in lycra who’d come up on mountain e-bikes, which looked a little easier on the knees!
If you’re coming by car, park up in Agres itself. Head uphill through the steep village streets, towards the huge convent which looms in rather a forbidding way over Agres; the Santuari de la Mare de Deu (Sanctuary of the Mother of God).
Fascinating fact!
The convent is there because of a miracle way back in the 15th century. On August 31st, 1484, the church of Santa Maria in Alicante, 80 km away down on the coast, caught fire. The whole of the high altar went up in flames.
The statue of the Virgin disappeared – but the very next day, September 1st, it was seen by a shepherd by the name of Gaspar Tomas, while grazing his sheep in the ruins of Agres castle.
Gaspar, so the story goes, had only one arm. But the Virgin gave his missing arm back to him to celebrate her miraculous escape. Not surprisingly, this caused a bit of a stir hereabouts. A chapel was built on the site of the miracle and later, a Franciscan monastery. It’s still a place of pilgrimage.
Back to the trail!
Head up past the front of the convent. The trail is deceptively easy to begin with but soon gets steeper and stonier as you climb up through the pine woods. The path is easy to follow and well signposted.
Occasionally you get a break in the tree cover for a glimpse of the valley below. But mostly it’s a straightforward uphill zig zag.
Eventually, you emerge onto a wider trail where two signposts (above) offer you the option of either the longer Sender Botanic dels Teixos, or a more direct route uphill. I chose the uphill option, which I regretted after I lost the trail quite easily. It was then a sweaty climb to the top! So next time, I’d go for the gentler, but longer, Sender Botanic.
Eventually you emerge onto a high ridge next to the mountain shelter Refugio de Montcabrer (above). Nearby is a ruined nevera (ice store), the Cava de l’Habitació, a smaller and less spectacular version of the Cava Gran de Agres we’ve come to see.
Head for the watchtower!
While you’re here, it’s well worth the few minutes’ hike up the concrete access road to the forest watchtower at Pico Teix. The views from up here are absolutely stunning, over Muro d’Alcoy right across to the Mediterranean in the far distance.
When you’re done soaking up the panorama, retrace your steps to the Refugio and it’s then just a few minutes easy stroll to the main event – the Cava Gran de Agres.
Cava Gran de Agres
With its strikingly arched roof, the Cava Gran de Agres is the most spectacular of the ice caverns in this part of Spain. Back in the day, there were scores of them, all worked by the nevaters – the icemen of the Sierra Mariola.
Theirs was a tough job. The nevaters worked up high in the mountains in the depths of winter, shovelling snow into the Cava. And then in summer came the task of digging out the compacted ice, packing it carefully with straw or bark, and loading it on to mules at night-time to avoid the heat of the day.
After a cold winter, the cave could hold 2,000 cubic metres of snow. Which sounds a lot. The only comparison I could find is that it’s equivalent to 4/5th of an Olympic swimming pool!
The Cava Gran was still in use until the early years of the 20th century. Ice was invaluable, as a luxury for things like ice cream, cool drinks and sweet postres, but also for medicinal purposes. But refrigeration and mechanical ice production eventually drove the nevaters out of business.
Some 21st century TLC!
These days, the Cava Gran is owned and looked after by the MARQ, Alicante’s archaeological museum. They’ve done a fair bit of restoration work on the structure, otherwise it would probably have fallen to bits by now.
It’s a beautiful, tranquil place – and there’s no charge to wander around. I had the place completely to myself in mid-February. Sit by the little waterspout and relax with a drink or maybe a picnic.
Take a look at this video of the Cava Gran. Running time 1 min 40 secs.
The return to Agres
The easiest way back (especially for your knees) is to follow the vehicle access road down the mountain to Agres. The gradients aren’t so steep as on the footpath I took on the way up. Some of the views over the Agres valley are a bit special.
How to get there
The whole circular walk takes about four hours. Difficulty – moderate. Agres lies about 75 minutes inland from Alicante, or about 90 minutes from Valencia by car. Agres does have a train station, on the line between Alcoi and Xátiva, but it’s about half an hour’s walk from the village itself.
Here’s the route I walked here on Wikiloc:
Or if you don’t have access to Wikiloc, here’s Cava Gran de Agres on Google Maps. But please be aware – this map does not show the route uphill that I describe in this post (via the convent). Google doesn’t do mountain footpaths! It shows only the route I took back down to Agres, via the access road. It’ll get you there, but it’s not so much fun! However, if you’re planning on coming by bike or e-bike, this is the route for you.
More to see near Agres:
- the Moorish caves of Bocairent
- the magnificent castles of the Vinalopó valley – Banyeres, Biar and Almizra are close to Agres
- exploring Xátiva, home of the Borgia Popes
- walk to the source of Alicante’s river, el Vinalopó
© Guy Pelham