Arenales del Sol Costa Blanca Spain

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Elx is not lacking in reasons for fame. One of its chief claims to fame is the splendid palm forest which surrounds the town on three sides, invading many of its corners. It would seem to have been the Phoenicians who, in the area around the ancient Illici, sowed a great many palms which, thanks to the waters of the Vinalopó, still exist today with their exceptional character. This palm forest is, in fact, very exclusive: the most northerly in the whole world and unique in Europe, together with that of Orihuela. Viewing the 100 000 date palms which at present form the forest, one must ask oneself what the area must have looked like in the 13th Century when the forest consisted of a million trees, or even at the end of the 18th Century, when there were still 500 000. The palms grow, quite frequently, at the edges of little private gardens called <<huertos>>, one of which, called <<del Cura>> (the Curate's Garden), has been converted into a botanical garden owing to the rarity of the examples found there. in some parts of the forest, beautifully landscaped gardens have been laid out; the most attractive one is the Municipal Park.

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