Don'ts During The Excursion

The best season to walk this path is the spring. But because of the mild climate of Oliva, any moment is good to discover a wide range of plants and animals.

A view to marsh

LA MARJAL

The marsh is a humid area, almost plain, with temporarily floods because of hight level of the subterranean waters. With the sediments left by the rivers, waves and currents of the sea have formed a littoral deposit thet has changed gulfs, bays into lagoons. The marsh has sprung from the sediments thet filled those lagoons. The natural dranaige of its waters arrives to the sea through irrigation channels, rivers and subterranean waters. These environmental characteristics of la Marjal, the quality of the water, its hardness, its salt, propitiate the development of a fauna and beatiful flora, very important ecologically. Look around you: on the right, on the left, in front, behind, under your feet, everything is marsh. The marsh has extension of 1000 hectares. It receives the water from Gallinera and Mustalla mountains through ravines and water spring or "ullals" and through rivers like Racons, Molinell o Vedat. This last one is the river with the largest flow of Europe in relation to its course. All these elements used to help to control the water level when the rice was produced here. It can be said that the marsh is a plain area that temporarily floods. These environmental characteristics propitiate very peculiar vegetal comunities and a fauna formed by migratory birds that need these ecological islands to complete their vital cycle. Among other species we could find: the white stork, the duck, other specie of duck called "zampullin chico", the water pullet, the painted pullet, the heron, cattle egret, and also the uncommon crab egret. Among the piscicultural richness we should point out: the eel, the tench, the sea-bass, the black-bass.

The waters from Pego

ULLAL

A "Ullal" is a source of subterranean water proceeding from the mountains, wich springs near by the calcareous relieves and the coast plain (wich is made by clay, sand and gravel). It is a little round pool of clean waters. Those "ullals" are important because they always contain water, also in dry season and they have a richness in fauna, specially in little shrimps and fishes. Refering to the vegetation, the water plants predominate. Around the "ullal" we can see mostly reeds and bulrushes, with narrow leaf. The large leaves of the water lilies and the small water lentil float in the water. The "lengua de oca" with bright green leaves swing following the current.

Bullent river

Calapatar

After having followed the riverside of the Bullent, we will arrive at a point where we can see, for the first time, the river bed which has widened. Here we can walk across it and reach some old ruins. Around these, if we scratch between the reeds we will find in a lot of pools of water, the "ullals". Inside we can observe apart of thousand of snils, an endemic fisch called "samaruc", almost extinguished. So it is a stop with a big ecologic interest, where we can see how the land of the marsh fights with its neighbouring mountains of stones.

If you are not to tired to go and if you dare to cross the narrow bridge or "Para de Sant Pere" you will reach the old sluice gates of the irrigation chanel which was used to regularize the entrance of water to the marsh when the rice was produced here. We will arrive to a spring of thermal waters known as "Font Salada" where you can bath either in summer or in winter. These waters with therapeutic properties are recommended to treat skin diseases. At the same time, you can look at different water plants, rushes, bulrushes, very little water lentil, lilies, "calas", or reeds. It is also the best place to watch the big carps playing with the gry mullet and barbel.

The path to the bridge of Sant Pere leads by the Sant Pere Hermitage. Following the track of the bridge called La Llosa, we will reach the Bovar Valley which will be all the away at the side of the itinerary that we have to walk until a ravine. It is considered as the general dranaige of the marsh Oliva-Pego. Here we can see how the frogs escape and hide from the water vipers. We can gaze at the sport flying of the water pullet or the majestic once of the royal heron ant the acrobatics of the white stork and "archibebes". Look at the shiny grebes going away meanwhile the herons fly around our heads. If you want to see more and are patient you could gaze at the royal heron or the rare basket bird. Finally we reach the pool called "Bassa del Sineu" crossed by an old bridge which has well resisted the dampness. A little further, under the bridge, the water lilies join the river Nou or Racons.

In all the sandy beaches, you can see a first area where the wawes and the tides wet the sand and leave naturally organic deposits. Some plants which resist to the salt can profit by those deposits to form thier communities. Between the sand that has been wet by the wawes and the high dunes, you can find smaller ones. The sand blown by the wind sticks to any obstacle like shells or small stones forming those first dunes. A the end of the beach we can find the movable dunes. Their compact vegetation is structured in order to protect the dunes from the wind of the sea, having the same effect upon the cultivations that lay behind.

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