INTRODUCTION
The official name of the natural park is Serra gelada natural park and its coastal environment and was declared in 2005. The Natural Park is located in the municipalities of Benidorm, Altea and L'Alfàs del Pi. It has 2 parts, terrestrial part with 735 hectares and the biggest part, aquatic with 4920 hectares . It has a total area of 5655 hectares.
The land side is dominated by the spectacular Serra Gelada mountain range, a small but rugged range dividing the bays of Benidorm and AlfásAltea. As well as this land area of the park there are several islands, two in the municipal area of Benidorm, l’Illa de Benidorm and l’Illa Mitjana, while in the municipal area of Altea there is the island of l’Olla and La Galera islet. The elongated shape of the nature reserve is due to the range facing northeast-southwest, with the Albir lighthouse in its centre and Benidorm island and Morro del Toix at each end of it. Its morphology is very different depending on whether one is standing on the southeast slope, with huge cliffs topped by the Alt del Governador at 438 metres.
-Ecosystems
The terrestrial has the characteristics of the mediterranean forest, wich are:It develops in regions with Mediterranean climate, characterized by mild winters, dry summers, autumns and springs with abundant rainfall, as well as frequent forest fires to which the vegetation is adapted.
You can find fauna or flora like lizards, storm petrels, Silene the Ifach and many more
:
Terrestrial
Lizard
Silene the Ifach
Aquatic
The Mediterranean region is characterized by a high degree of endemism that has caused it to be considered as one of the places with the highest concentration of biodiversity in the world, which can be explained in different ways: the impact of the last glaciation on the zone, which caused it to act as a reserve; the presence of important mountainous massifs, which gives the biotope structural diversity; and also to the long history of the diverse uses of the land by the local population that has created and maintained a wide range of habitats.
We can see fauna and flora like:
Marthasterias glacialis (Common sea star)
Posidonia oceanica
(Oceanic posidonia)
