The Palmeral of Elche is the generic name for a system of date palm orchards in the city of Elche. It was planted in Roman times and underwent modifications in the medieval period under Islamic and Christian rulers. The Roman empire introduced water management techniques to Elche, but the 10th c. Islamic Caliphate of Córdoba and later rulers of Al-Andalus planted palm groves and garden-estates in huertos (rectangular base agricultural units). Islamic rulers also constructed the largest canal system sections in Elche. In the 13th century Christian rulers conquered Elche and expanded the canal system. Industrialization and urban sprawl contracted the Palmeral in the late 19th and 20th century. The Spanish national government and Valencian regional government enacted legislation to protect the Palm Grove. In 2000, UNESCO designated the Palmeral a World Heritage Site, but climate change, pests, and disease threaten the site. The Palmeral includes a National Artistic Garden, Palm Grove Museum, Route of El Palmeral, and Municipal Park.
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The Caliphate of Córdoba constructed a comprehensive canal system for urban consumption, industrial production, and crop irrigation. Islamic rulers regarded water as a social good and designed the canal system to maximize water conservation.With over 20 branches, the main canal Acequia Mayor channeled the brackish water from the Vinalopó River through secondary channels and partidores to crop fields.Upon reaching partidores north of Elche, the water flow split into the partidor de Albinella and the partidor de Marchena. The partidor de Albinella diverted water into Elche for urban consumption and industrial production. The partidor supplied small industries (i.e., oil and soap producers), bathhouses, and local markets.The partidor de Marchena within the Acequia Marchena channeled water to the right side of the Vinalopó River. The Acequia Mayor on the left side of the Vinalopó River stretched south across Elche to the crop fields.Elche residents cultivated crop fields for human and livestock consumption as well as sale in local markets.The Acequia Mayor ended at a partidor channeling excess flow into two reservoirs. The canal system was maintained under Islamic rule until the Christian Reconquista.
Under UNESCO and Phoenix Station management, the Palmeral transitioned from a local site to a tourist destination.The Palmeral is the only palm grove in Europe with North African origins and the largest on the continent.The Palm Grove also constitutes the northernmost and one of the largest palm groves in the world.Today, the city of Elche contains 97 orchards composed of 70,000 date palms, concentrated in the east bank of the Vinalopó. Outside the Elche city domain, other large plantations contain approximately 130,000 date palms. In total, Elche and its vicinity hold 200,000 palms. The Palm Grove ranges over 3.5 km2 including 1.5 km2 within the city of Elche.The Palm Grove of Elche comprises the National Artistic Garden, Palm Grove Museum, Route of El Palmeral, and Municipal Park.
The National Artistic Garden encompasses the palm groves, the Ornamental Collections, ponds, sculptures, and the garden house. Some palm trees grow to a height of more than 30 metres and live up to 300 years. The famous "Imperial Palm" (Palmera Imperial) is a 176 year old, male date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera) with 7 stems in the shape of a candelabra.] The city Elche named the Palm after Elisabeth (Sissi), the Empress consort of Franz Joseph, who visited the plantation in 1894 by Chaplain Castaño. The Ornamental Collection contains palm trees from 70 different species, chiefly date palm trees (Phoenix dactylifera), as well as olive trees and citrus trees
The Palm Grove Museum, housed within two traditional 19th century houses connected by a skybridge, details the historical and cultural context of the Palm Grove and UNESCO World Heritage status. The two-story museum also provides demonstrations by Palmereros (palm workers) that plait white palms
The Route of El Palmeral, which starts and finishes at the Palm Grove Museum, takes visitors across the Acequia Mayor del Pantano irrigation system to the Huerto del Cura and Filet de Fora Palm Trees Park. The Filet de Flora Palm Trees Park includes the Huertos de Rogeta, Sempere, Casimira, Pastoret, Mareta, Borreguet, and Monjo palm groves.
I visited this WHS in March 2016. I spent 2 nights in Elche and a full day exploring the different parts of the Palmeral. The whole Ruta del Palmeral is around 5km but it is quite worthwhile as there are a number of cafes or benches to stop to relax or grab a coffee. It starts and ends at the Huerto de San Plácido which has a Unesco sign and a map of the trail next to the entrance. In all there are 20 groves with a total of 200,000 trees and 70,000 date palm trees. Some are relatively new and are not part of the inscription. The best viewpoint is opposite the bridge next to the Palacio De Altamira moorish fortress and the blue-domed Basilica de Santa Maria. Although when walking the trail, the Palmeral seems like a huge park or garden, it was originally a plantation with an agriculture purpose, and thus its plots (huerta) are referred to as groves. Each of the groves is flanked by rows of date palm trees, in such a way that, when viewed from the air, they form a grid pattern. The origins of the palm grove date back to the tenth century, when the Arabs relocated the city to its current site. During the Ruta del Palmeral you'll visit the Palm Grove Museum which will help to give you a context to better appreciate the site. Moreover, you will see several palm trees with different shapes and forms, mainly at the municipal park (free) and the Huerta del Cura (5 euro entrance fee), a botanical garden with several cacti, peacocks and other birds. The most popular one is the 7 branched Imperial Palm tree (picture) which is almost 200 years old. Recently the red palm weevil parasite killed as much as 20,000 palm trees in Elche and one of the 7 branches of the Imperial Palm tree had to be trimmed off. However, authorities seem to have kept the situation under control and slowly but surely more palm trees will grow. The Palmeral of Elche is quite unique in Europe and is the northernmost of its kind worldwide. The Huerta del Cura reminded me of the Yves Saint Laurent Gardens in Marrakech which have a better cacti collection. Overall, I failed to grasp the OUV of this site even though it's worth visiting if your nearby.
In our trip to Spain we have been to the Palmeral of Elche, the most important complex of date palm groves in Europe, laid out by the Arab Muslims at the end of the 10th century as an oasis, a system of agricultural production in arid areas. The city of Elche and its centre are completely surrounded on the east by an incredibly large and continuous area of palm trees (some higher than 30 metres and older than 300 years), interrupted only by main traffic roads. The palms are everywhere, touching the houses of the outskirts and also inserting in the middle of them. First we stopped at the Tourist Office where they have many information about the Palmeral, near which there are beautiful views of this “sea of palms” from the bridges over the river Vinalopó. In the middle of the Palmeral there are four places, of which we have seen two, regarded as the most interesting features, mainly parks. First we went to the Municipal Park: here you can have a pleasant walk on gravelly paths in the middle of palms. The small park is laid out exactly like an urban garden with all its facilities, with palms combined with a lot of other species of plants, often flowering, situated in modern flower-beds. Then we have been to the Huerto del Cura, a park similar to the Municipal one, but finer and comparable to a small botanical garden (the ticket for which is highly overpriced – 5 Euro), also with palms combined with other species of plants (cactuses, flowers…), but containing also fountains, statues, modern sculptures... The most interesting feature is the Imperial Palm, more than 200 years old, the trunk of which is separated into 7 arms. However this garden design of the palm groves as urban parks or botanical gardens is seen by me as diminishing the authenticity of the Palmeral, although enhancing its state of conservation. However the major part of the Palmeral isn’t constituted by decorative palms, but by those used for the production of dates or palm leaves, laid out in polygonal plots bounded by fences and irrigated by canals. This arrangement is probably original and unchanged from the Arab times, so it is much more authentic than that of the parks; but it is clearly difficult to maintain them in a good state of conservation and keep them clean and you can see this in place. However, in my opinion, this type of grove is really the most interesting feature of the Palmeral. There is also a 2,5 km long itinerary between this palm groves, starting from the Huerto de San Placido in front of the Huerto del Cura, about which you can find information and maps in the Tourist Office and on the Spanish web page http://www.turismedelx.com/es/rutas/2/. However, we have seen only a small part of this because it was raining. This WHS is certainly not a classical type of destination for a tourist or a place where one could see extraordinary features, but it is much original and specific and especially for this reason it was interesting. It is not worthy of a long travel for visiting specifically it, but certainly it is worthy of a visit if you are in Spain for a longer holiday. It certainly justifies its inscription on the WHL not only because it is the largest palm grove in Europe, but above all because it is the only case of transposition of an agricultural system from one continent and culture to another one.