Things to do in Calpe

Local guide

About Calpe

Calp has an emblem that needs no introduction: the Peñón de Ifach, a 332-metre limestone mass that rises almost straight from the water and has been a natural park since 1987. It is one of the last foothills of the Baetic mountain ranges, and from the road or from the sea it makes Calp's outline recognisable at first sight.

At the foot of the Peñón something curious happens: right in the town centre the Salinas survive, an old salt lagoon worked from the Middle Ages until 1988. Today it is a wetland of about 41 hectares where 173 bird species have been recorded, including several hundred flamingos, all surrounded by streets and buildings. Next to it, on the shore, are the Baños de la Reina, the remains of a Roman palace from the 2nd to 5th centuries with baths and pools cut into the rock to farm and salt fish.

Old Calp tells another story, that of a walled village facing pirates. The Iglesia Antigua (Old Church), from the early 15th century in Gothic and Mudéjar style, was built to serve as a refuge as well. The Torreó de la Peça recalls the town wall and the Barbary raids; the hardest came in 1637, and the raid of 22 October 1744 gave rise to the patron saint fiestas.

That episode is exactly what is relived every October in the Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians) in honour of the Santísimo Cristo del Sudor, declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest in 2026, the year of its 50th anniversary. The Entradas (parades) and the Desembarco (landing) on the Arenal-Bol shore fill the town for almost a week.

The rest of the year, Calp lives between town beaches such as the Arenal-Bol, the fishing harbour and the Wednesday and Saturday markets. It is about 70 kilometres from Alicante-Elche airport and has a TRAM stop on the line from Benidorm to Dénia. Few towns bring together, in so little space, a natural park, a wetland with flamingos, a Roman site and a fiesta born from its own history.

Things to do

Must-see places

1. Parque natural del Peñón de Ifach: the 332-metre limestone rock, protected since 1987, symbol of Calp.
2. Salinas de Calpe: urban wetland of about 41 hectares with flamingos and 173 recorded bird species.
3. Yacimiento de los Baños de la Reina: remains of a Roman palace with baths and pools cut into the rock by the sea.
4. Playa del Arenal-Bol: 1,200-metre Blue Flag sandy town beach, setting for the fiesta Desembarco (landing).
5. Iglesia Antigua: fortified church from the early 15th century, in Gothic and Mudéjar style, with the image of the Cristo del Sudor.
6. Torreó de la Peça: tower of the old town wall that recalls the pirate attacks of 1637 and 1744.