Recommendations for the visit to the Natural Parks
We leave you with a series of recommendations in the form of a basic guide for moving around the Serra Mariola Natural Park and the Font Roja Natural Park, which will be useful to you and will help us to preserve them!
Respect to leave no trace
- Always pick up the trash and waste you generate. Remember to leave the place as clean as possible. We all like to find and enjoy beautiful places.
- Moderate the use of private vehicles and always try to access on foot, by bicycle or on horseback: you will reduce pollution and enjoy the landscape better. Do not leave the ROADS and respect at all times the SIGNALS you find on your way.
- Always keep in mind the danger of FIRE, remember that FIRE can become a great enemy for our mountains. Do not throw away cigarette butts or leave combustible materials on the ground. Campfires and bonfires are not allowed in the paella pans of the recreational areas.
- Respect the wildlife: avoid damaging the PLANTS and disturbing the FAUNA that you find in your way. The best memory is without a doubt a PHOTOGRAPHY. Make a responsible use of all resources.
- Free CAMPING is not allowed, as there are authorized areas for this purpose.
- Help us to preserve the rich and varied CULTURAL HERITAGE that our ancestors have left us as a legacy: do not make graffiti or cause damage.
- Respect PRIVATE PROPERTY (some people have their house in the mountains) and do not interfere with agricultural or livestock work.
- Remember to take the RIGHT EQUIPMENT: it is convenient to take a mobile phone with you during your field trips, so in case of EMERGENCY you can call 112.
Good environmental practices
- You have your own time to harvest each part of the plant. Be well informed so that its later use is effective.
- You can collect for domestic use the species of plants traditionally used for their aromatic and medicinal properties: camomile, sage, thyme, rosemary, St. John’s wort, etc. On the other hand, the collection of these species on forest land for commercial purposes is considered a harvest and requires express authorization.
- It is important to vary the place of harvesting so as not to over-exploit the same area. Similarly, do not collect all the flowers or fruit from a single plant.
- Remember to cut the plant instead of uprooting it. You must damage the specimen as little as possible, using a sickle, knife, scissors or similar tool that facilitates the operation.
- Respect private property, because some people have their home in the mountains. Go to public lands whenever you can or ask the owners for permission.
- Be careful, collect only the part of the plant that you are going to use: flowers, fruits, leaves, etc. Ignore the small specimens, not only for the conservation of the species, in addition the active principles responsible for the curative properties of the same may not yet be in the right dose.
- There are endangered plant species in the Natural Park. Remember that in general it is forbidden to cut down and collect wild species.
- Avoid as much as possible, during the collection, to walk outside the roads and paths already drawn, it will help us to reduce erosion.
- Moderate the use of private vehicles and always try to access the forest on foot.
- Always leave your vehicle properly parked in the parking lots