| Landscape |
| The relief is steep and abrupt, dominated by vast rocks, cracked and holed by the forces of nature. The main characteristics of this landscape are the enormous rock faces, the huge faults, narrow gorges and deep caverns which contrast with the Mediterranean Plain. |
| The human imprint. |
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| Hundreds of thousands of productive fields have been terraced into the mountainsides, a monument to human labour and ingenuity. Behind every hill we find a new valley with its stone farmhouses and often with its own village. |
| Culture | |
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The Iberians, the Romans and the Muslims have all influenced the culture. The curious variations of culture, gastronomy, language (Valencian) and religious rites are owed to the steepthe different valleys,which allowed each to develop in its own way, a heritage which surprises in a globalized, homogenized world. |
Gastronomy: Our cuisine is blend of food
from the sea, the mountain and has Arab influences. Each Town and
village has added a personal touch. At the lodgings organised by
Terra Ferma you get a chance to sample many of these dishes. |
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Historical Heritage. | |
| The landscape has been modelled by intense human activity in the last 1000 years, and many sites of archaeological interest are to be found. | ||
| Major examples of prehistoric Mediterranean cave paintings, which have been declared of universal human interest. | ||
Ruined castles and fortifications
built on the highest, steepest crags which testify to the conflict
between Moors and Christians. |
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| Snow wells. Enormous holes carved out off the rock and used for storing snow which would be later sold in nearby cities to keep food fresh, to make cold drinks or for medicinal purposes. |  |
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| Dry stone walls. | ||
| The terraced mountainsides: Perhaps the most spectacular legacy of our heritage and one of the foremost characteristics of our landscape. Huge quantities of earth were moved and millions of stones used to build supporting walls with no cement. | ||
| These were built with such skill that many have survived and are used today. | ||
| Network of paths |  |
| All this human activity produced a dense network of ancestral paths which joined villages, farmhouses and work zones. Today they are being recovered and used by hill walkers. | |
