Els Molins de la Plana

Eleven stone windmills stand on La Plana, the plateau above the coast of Jávea on the way to Cap de la Nau. The earliest documented reference to one of them dates from 1397, and the full group was in place by the second half of the 18th century, when wheat farming was one of the pillars of the local economy. Cylindrical in shape, they stand around seven metres tall and just over six metres across, with two levels: the ground floor was used for storage, while an upper floor housed wooden gearing made of carrasca oak that turned the heavy grinding stones.

From wheat to abandonment

The sails turned with the wind that sweeps across La Plana, one of the windiest spots in the municipality. The mills worked as long as wheat was sown in the surrounding fields; over the course of the 19th century, as industrial milling took over, the sails and machinery were removed and the windmills stopped grinding. Several still keep their cylindrical body largely intact, while others have lost part of their roof or walls.

What's there today

Of the eleven mills, some have been restored and now serve as private homes, so they can only be seen from outside, while others remain in various states of ruin among the old terraced fields. They are listed as heritage sites of local relevance and are in the process of being declared assets of cultural interest. Walking La Plana pairs naturally with a stop at the Museu Arqueològic i Etnogràfic Soler Blasco, which explains the traditional farming these mills once served, and with any of the area's viewpoints, since the plateau offers open sea views without much of a climb.