El Palmerar public park in Alacant, Valencian Country.
Palm groves (called "palmerars" in Catalan) are found in various cities of the Southern Valencian Country. They have their origin in the Middle Ages during the Islamic period.
Alacant's palm grove is much smaller than the famous one in Elx and than Oriola's, because it has many of its palm trees were cut down in the late 20th century during urban expansion. In the second half of the century, it had 7,000 palm trees, but in the 1990s they were reduced to 2,000 and became even less when it was conditioned to become a public park.
As a comparison, the palm grove in the near city of Elx has about 240,000 palm trees. It's Europe's biggest palm grove, only surpassed in the world by some palm groves in Arab countries. Oriola's palm grove is the 2nd biggest in Europe, after Elx's.
Alacant's palm grove, even though it has been reduced, is still a beautiful sight. This public park is located right in front of the sea, which makes its views unique from the other palm groves.
Photo by costablancaorg and alicanteturism.com.
