Title: Aitana.   Published: High Magazine.   Date: January 2000   Author: Geoff Birtles.     In the begginning, somebody said "Calpe" and like a fearful flock we all went to Calpe. I became more adventurous. Last Bonfire Day, I strolled along the seafront at Benidorm enjoying the hot climate that still prevailed and I was expected to remain so throughout the winter. There in a small café I enjoyed a full English breakfast with coffee for a mere 1.40 pounds and looked out pass the topless old folk exercising on the beach to the glimmering Mediterranean Sea which still sported some bathers. It all look very tiring and I made a mental note not to do this when my day came. There I was at the foot of the Costa Blanca, a mountainous limestone coastal area offering easy and cheap access from Britain through its airport of Alicante with over three hundred days of sunshine and more to the point, for some, more crags that you could grapple in a lifetime. The area is well known among British climbers but probably less so by hill walkers. True there is a guide book called Mountain Walks on the Costa Blanca by Bob Stanfield but the venue is clearly not as popular as winter walking in Mallorca which is the very thing that makes Aitana so attractive. The British climbers first came to this area lured by the 328 m(1076 ft) high Peñon de Ifach, a rock pinnacle just out of the sea at Calpe. It offers rock climbs of various standards of difficulty and a footpath t the summit via a ma-made tunnel which is a scramble in some places on polished limestone and you could easily get killed if you slip in the wrong place, which somebody did in August. So when people talked of going climbing in Spain, they invaribly meant Calpe but as time went by the mountains inmediately inland were explored, notably by Joe Brow and his chums, who climbed numerous routes and recorded none of them. Thanks Joe. Never mind, I was on a boondoggle as editor of High along with a couple of other outdoor writers and a few people representing trekking companies.These trips involve somebody paying your air fare, arranging lovely accommodation in mountain guesthouses and then forcing you to go to restaurants where they ply you with food and drink.I've not done many of these but I'm getting to quite like them. There's always a downside though which was that I was made to walk in the mountains and around the Aitana region. I didn't know what Aitana was until I got there but it is an area, a mountain range and eponymously at 1558m the highest summit of this limestone massif sometimes refered to as the "Sierras of the Marinas". However, our guides, Jose and Jeroni didn't like these mountains described as either the Costa Blanca or the Marinas and held to the name of Sierra Aitana on the brochure fotr their new compant Terra Ferma which is providing walking trips and rock climbing courses. These are local boys who know the area well and have a deep passion about the environment.   There are tracks all over these mountains navigable by four drive vehicles and you can walk them if you so wish. However the real pleasure is via narrow path which are not always well defined, the consequence of loosing your way being not so much getting into danger but having to hack through gorse, most likely whilst wearing shorts. Whilst on one walk, we were invaded by a convoy of holiday trippers on safari, which was essential a group of very sad people in open top jeeps. To our glee, though, the first jeep kicked up so much dust it choked all those following. As in Britain, these four wheelers need controlling by legislation.   There are various significant landmarks in the area which help you get your bearings. Principally, the Puig Campana, at 1410 m. is spottable on the approach flight.This mountain is of alpine proportions and the most spectacular. Its summit is split by a mantrap some three pitches deep and it is this slot which identifies it so easily. It looks not unlike the Drus when viewed from the coast road.The other easily identifiable feature is the Peñon de Ifach mentioned above. Apart from being a spectacular feature in its own right it also marks the end of the famous Bernia Ridge described as a mini Cuillin of similar height, but only four kilometres long. It does however, contain some serious rock ridges so route finding and care are called for. Being a limestone region, surface water is scarce so you must prepare accordingly. You can walk between guesthouses with luggage forwarded on, a list of which can be found on or via the web page of Terra Ferma. The rainy season is mainly October and March and the rest is likelyto be blue skies. The summer is too hot for strenuous days . The main things are reliable weather, beautiful unspoilt mountains and it's both easy and cheap to get there.   Environment:     The sheer delight of this area is how much it remains unspoilt yet the dangers are both obvious and menacing. Just down the road from Sella is Benidorm, a boom town on the coast with power and money. If it flexes its muscle in the direction of Sella it is hard to see how the locals could resist whatever temptations were placed before them. Already a new road has brought it that much nearer and therefore, that much more vulnerable. The picture below shows the valley of Guadalest, with its ancient moorish Castle de Guadalest. A major road brings coach loads of people from the coast on a daily basis and, worst of all, two new hotels are under construction ( circled below) which stand out like the proverbial blot on the landscape. These will surely bring money, to the area, but at the expense of its heritage. When you look at the beauty and inocence of nearby Sella you can only hope the locals will have the strength to fight off the invasion of big business.