Elche Palm Grove

The Palmeral of Elche is the largest palm grove in Europe, around two hundred thousand date palms covering some five square kilometres in and around the city, planted in rows along irrigation channels that were laid out under Muslim rule using water from the Vinalopo, with the palms serving as windbreaks and shade for crops grown between them. UNESCO listed it in 2000 as an example of Arab agricultural practice transferred to Europe and maintained since. Much survives as public parkland and private huertos. The Huerto del Cura, a walled garden with a labelled collection, holds the Imperial Palm, a specimen with seven trunks branching from one base. Palm fronds are bleached for Palm Sunday and exported across Spain.

What you actually see

• The irrigation rows - palms planted along medieval water channels.
• The Huerto del Cura - a walled garden with the seven-trunked Imperial Palm.
• The public groves - parkland sections open and free throughout the city.
• The frond bleaching - palms wrapped to whiten leaves for Palm Sunday.

When to go

March to June and September to November; Elche is very hot in July and August. Palm Sunday brings the frond procession, and the Misteri d'Elx is performed in August.

Honest expectations

Much of the grove is private or divided by roads and buildings, so the experience is fragmented rather than a single forest. The Huerto del Cura is small and ticketed. Summer heat in the city is severe.

Nearby

The basilica of Santa Maria and the Altamira palace are in the city; Alicante lies northeast.