THE PALMERAY

With a number of palm trees estimated between 200 000 and 300 000, it was the largest palm grove throughout Europe, which earned it a UNESCO heritage in 2000 as a testimony to the cultural transmission of the East to the West and remains of an exceptional irrigation system inherited from Al-Andalus's culture. It includes over 2 800 species of cross-palms, whose life ranges between 200 and 300 years, some of which reach 30 metres high. Although its origin dates back to prehistory, since the Phoenicians have introduced cross-palms as a means of subsistence during their maritime crossings, its expansion occurred as a result of the foundation by the Arabs of the new Elche city, on its current location from the th to the th centuries, which was accompanied by a vast irrigation network that still continues to exist. now. A remote view, the palm grove can look like a forest but it is in fact an agrarian plantation whose plots and clusters are called orchards. Each plot is flanked by palm alignments, which saw the sky, resembling crossings. The interior stands have traditionally been devoted to agricultural crops. The survival for centuries of this oasis farming system was also one of the aspects assessed by UNESCO. Today, its function is more landscape-oriented and cultural than agricultural. But it still produces white palm leaves, for Rameaux Sunday in Spain, and its dates harvest continue to supply the local market. Different routes are offered to you for excursions, including the route of the Palm Grove through traditional palm gardens and the Parc de Fora de Fora de Forums.