The Montgó is the great limestone hulk that rises between Dénia and Jávea on the Costa Blanca, a mountain that looks like a sleeping elephant from some angles and dominates every view along this stretch of coast. On its flanks, in shelters and small caves, are prehistoric paintings, and the Coves Santes de Dalt, the upper holy caves, are among the sites in the area recorded as part of the UNESCO Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The paintings here are mostly schematic, simpler and more abstract than the hunting scenes found inland, and the shelters are protected, so viewing usually needs a guided visit.
The Montgó Natural Park surrounds the mountain, with trails through dwarf palms, rosemary, lavender and pine, and on clear days the summit view stretches as far as Ibiza. At the eastern end, the Cabo de San Antonio drops sheer into the sea, with a lighthouse and a viewpoint over Jávea's bay that is particularly beautiful at sunset.
Jávea, three kilometres away, is a town of thirty thousand that swells enormously in summer, with a large foreign community, an old town of white houses and Gothic church, a fishing port and a beach promenade. Dénia, nine kilometres off, is bigger, with a castle above the port and ferries to the Balearics, and it is famous for its red prawns. Fuel and food are no problem.
For riding, the coast roads are busy in high season and full of roundabouts, but the hills behind are wonderful. The roads inland toward the Vall de Laguar, Vall d'Ebo and Castell de Castells are tight, twisty and often almost empty, climbing through terraced almond and olive groves into dramatic limestone country. Come in spring, when the almond blossom is over but the hills are green and fragrant, or in autumn, when the crowds have gone and the sea is still warm enough for a swim after a morning in the mountains.