Route of the Monasteries of Valencia

Route of the Monasteries of Valencia (GR-236)
Route of the Monasteries of Valencia
Length	90 km (56 mi)
Location	Spain
Designation	GR footpath
Use	Hiking, Mountain biking, Equestrianism
Difficulty	Easy
Season	All year
Sights	Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba Monastery of the Corpus Christi Monastery of Santa María de la Valldigna Monastery of Aguas Vivas Monastery of la Murta
Maintained by	Generalitat Valenciana
Map of the route

The Route of the Monasteries of Valencia (GR-236) is a religious and cultural route that connects five monasteries located in central region of the Province of Valencia, (Valencian Community), in Spain. The Route was inaugurated in the year 2008.^[1][2]

The route includes the following five monasteries:

• 1 Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba, in Alfauir.
• 2 Monastery of the Corpus Christi, in Llutxent.
• 3 Monastery of Santa María de la Valldigna, in Simat de la Valldigna.
• 4 Monastery of Aguas Vivas, in Carcaixent.
• 5 Monastery of la Murta, in Alzira.

There are four distinct itineraries. The first road, for condition for hiking: the GR-236 (over 90 km in length), the second route, access to the monasteries with vehicles. The four routes are different and each one goes through different towns, but both routes pass by the five monasteries.

• On foot (GR-236).
• By car.
• Bicycle (MTB).
• By horse (IE-001).

The walk route passes through ancient medieval historical paths as the Pas del Pobre (passage of the poor), riding trails, mountain trails, old roads and railroad tracks. It starts at the train station in Gandia and ends in Alzira, to connect to public transport. The route begins in Gandia Railway Station and ends on Alzira Railway Station.

The GR-236 is the international code of the Monasteries route by foot. It is a GR (GR footpath) officially approved by the Valencian Federation of Mountain Climbing.

The GR-236 begins in Gandía and finishes in Alzira passing by these monasteries:

• 1 Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba, in Alfauir.
• 2 Monastery of the Corpus Christi, in Llutxent.
• 3 Monastery of Santa María de la Valldigna, in Simat de la Valldigna.
• 4 Monastery of Aguas Vivas, in Carcaixent.
• 5 Monastery of la Murta, in Alzira.

All the paths are perfectly signposted from the Train Station of Gandia to Alzira. There are road signs in problematic forks with location signs and direction signs. The signs are white and red and they all have the path code (GR-236). To walk round this route you need 2 or 3 days. There is a main route (3–4 days) and there is another way where you can take a short cut in the route (2–3 days), but with the last option you can't see one of the monasteries (Corpus Christi, in Llutxent).

• 1 Monastery of the Corpus Christi
• 2 Llutxent
• 3 Benicolet
• 4 Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba
• 5 Gandia
• 6 Marxuquera
• 7 La Drova
• 8 Barx
• 9 Simat de la Valldigna
• 10 Monastery of Santa Maria de la Valldigna
• 11 Monastery of Aguas Vivas
• 12 La Barraca d'Aigües Vives
• 13 Alzira
• 14 Monastery of la Murta

The itinerary by bicycle (MTB) is a circular route of 123 km which starts and ends in Alzira and which crosses the central regions of La Safor, la Vall d'Albaida and La Ribera Alta. The itinerary has a specific signaling and a special path adapted to mountain bike.

The itinerary by horse has a specific signaling and a special path adapted to horses and homologated by the Royal Spanish Equestrian Federation (RFHE) and their code is IE-001. It is the first route in Spain and the second in Europe to be approved as equestrian route. The itinerary starts in the Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba, near Gandia.

It's possible to collect a card in the Tourist Office of Gandia which credited the pilgrims passing through the various monasteries and towns.

• Tourist Info Gandia

Avda. Marques de Campo s/n 46701 Gandia (Valencia) Ph 96 287 77 88 www.visitgandia.com

• Tourist Info Ròtova

Plaza Mayor 7 - 46725 Rotova (Valencia) Ph 96 283 53 16

• Tourist Info Tavernes de la Valldigna

Avda. Marina s/n 46760 Tavernes de la Valldigna (Valencia) Ph 96 288 52 64 www.valldignaturisme.org

• Tourist Info Alzira

Pl. del Reino 46600 Alzira (Valencia) Ph 96 241 95 51 www.alzira.es

• Tourist Info Simat de la Valldigna

Passeig 9 de Octubre, s/n 46750 Simat de la Valldigna (Valencia) Ph 96 281 09 20

• Bernat Montagud Piera. "Monasterios Valencianos". Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleria de Cultura, Educació i Ciència. Rutes d'aproximació al patrimoni cultural valencià, Volumen nº 3. 1984. ISBN 8475790224
• María Desamparados Cabanes Pecourt. Los monasterios valencianos. University of Valencia. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Departamento de Historia Medieval. 1974. ISBN 8460060365
• Carlos Sarthou Carreres. "Monasterios Valencianos: su historia y su arte". La Semana Gráfica, Valencia, 1943.

• Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba
• Route of the Borgias
• PR-CV 100 (Route of the Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba)
• Route of the Castles of Vinalopó
• GR-160

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Route of the Monasteries of Valencia.

• Route of the Monasteries of Valencia (in English)
• Route of the Monasteries - IdealSpain.com (in English)
• The Route on the website of Gandia Tourist Info (in English)
• Maps and itineraries of the Route (in Spanish)
• The route at the Valencian Community Tourist Info Website (in Spanish)

• Monastery of Sant Jeroni de Cotalba (in English and Spanish)
• Monastery of Santa Maria de la Valldigna (in Spanish)