Clots de la Sal / Les Salinetes

TL;DR: Clots de la Sal are three turquoise lagoons in abandoned quarries four kilometres from Novelda, a 120.41-hectare Municipal Natural Site; reached via an unpaved track with no facilities or lifeguards, swimming is not officially permitted and the visit is about landscape, photography and silence rather than beach life.

Why does almost nobody know this place?

Because it never entered beach guides and because Novelda is linked to the Sanctuary of Santa María Magdalena and the Castle of La Mola, not lagoons. The site sits off the coastal circuit linking Alacant with Elx and Torrevieja, and its protection is recent: the Valencian Government homologated it in 2021 with no tourism campaign. It has a signposted municipal trail (SL-CV 127) and its own page on Novelda's tourism website, so it is no secret to anyone searching for hiking routes in the area, even if it still draws far fewer visitors than Fonts de l'Algar in Callosa d'en Sarrià. That lower visitor volume keeps it pristine, but look up the Salinetes track beforehand (coordinates 38.414, -0.740): sitting off the usual coastal circuit, it is easy to drive past if you are not already looking for it.

What Clots de la Sal / Les Salinetes actually is. It is a former clay quarry that supplied Novelda's ceramics and marble industry, abandoned in the 1990s and reclaimed by nature as basins flooded by the water table and Vinalopó seepage. Novelda Town Hall designated it a Municipal Natural Site in 2021, covering 120.41 hectares that include brackish lagoons, red-and-white clay slopes, fringe reedbeds and the visual link to the Serra de la Mola. It is not a beach or managed wild swimming spot, there is no lifeguard or beach bar, and its value is landscape and geology: sheer walls 10 to 20 metres high, ochre tones turning pink at sunset and silence contrasting with the coast thirty minutes away. Management is municipal, homologated by the Valencian Government (Generalitat Valenciana). The quarry floor and water level fluctuate with seasonal rainfall and groundwater extraction controls, yet the site remains undisturbed without ongoing industrial activity or artificial landscaping interventions.

How were the lagoons formed?

The story is industrial. In the 1970s and 1980s Novelda quarried red clays and marls for the marble and ceramics industry of the Vinalopó Mitjà, with quarries visible from Petrer inland. Digging below the water table, the pits flooded permanently with mildly brackish water loaded with sulphates from the Triassic Keuper substrate, the same geology that paints the slopes red. When extraction stopped no one pumped the water and the basins stayed flooded. Today there are three main pools and smaller ponds, connected intermittently by rainfall, framed by vertical cuts where stratigraphy reads like a book. The contrast between green-blue water, ochre clay and grey-green tamarisks creates the palette that draws photographers from across the province.

Can you swim or is it look-only?

Officially swimming is not authorised or supervised. The Protection Plan classifies it as restricted landscape and education use, with no bathing infrastructure, and the Town Hall presents it as a viewpoint. In summer locals bathe, but the bottom is uneven with clay blocks, variable depth and no lifeguard or shade. According to Decree 54/2021 of the Consell, the protected area covers 120.41 hectares that include both the lagoons and the Serra de la Mola, and only a minor fraction is open water; most of the site is slope and scrubland, not recreation area. If you go, treat it as a viewpoint: bring water shoes, do not jump from cliffs and avoid water after heavy rain when turbidity hides obstacles. The reward is staying until late afternoon when low sun saturates ochres and water mirrors the Serra de la Mola.

How to get there without getting lost?

From Novelda take the CV-835 toward La Romana and turn onto the Salinetes track, signposted as quarry access; after 3.8 km tarmac gives way to a potholed dirt track passable without 4x4 when dry. Park in the clearing before the gate and walk 400 metres to the first cliff. No direct public transport: the nearest TRAM stop is at Elda, 22 km by road. From Alacant via the A-31 allow 32 minutes to Novelda plus 7 to the site; from Guadalest or Alcoi mountain access is longer, so pair with the Novelda Historical-Artistic Museum or a stop in Xixona. Bring water, cap and closed shoes: no fountain or shade and clay is slippery when wet.

By carOn foot / by bike from NoveldaDistance4.2 km from centre (7 min)4.2 km via paved road then track (45-55 min)ParkingUnpaved clearing by the Salinetes trackNot neededLast stretchDirt track, potholes, passable without 4x4 when dryShadeless path, bring waterCostFree, no barrier or ticketFree

When to go and what to bring?

Best from October to May and at first or last light. In summer the basin traps heat with no trees for shelter, while on a winter late afternoon side light models the cliffs and water turns milky turquoise from suspended carbonates. No bins or toilets: bring a litter bag, binoculars for coots and ducks in the reedbed and a tripod. Drones are discouraged without municipal permission inside a Natural Site. If you want swimming with services, switch to Fonts de l'Algar or the coast at Xàbia; if you want silence and geology ten minutes off the motorway, this is it. A full visit needs no more than 90 minutes, but allow time to walk the perimeter.

What to do nearby once you are there?

Novelda lets you close the day without returning to the coast. Climb to the Castle of La Mola with its unique triangular tower, enter the Gaudí-inspired Sanctuary and have lunch in town. If you extend the route, Pego and its Marjal offer wetland boardwalks, and Biar with its castle adds a medieval inland counterpoint. Everything lies within an hour via the A-31 and AP-7, without the crowds of Benidorm or the Guadalest reservoir at weekends.

Tip: Go at sunset between October and May: the low light on the ochre rock and turquoise water beats midday, and you skip the heat.