Jardín Botánico y Estación Biológica Torretes

The Estación Biológica-Jardín Botánico de Torretes occupies a former dryland farm at around 950 metres of altitude, on the slopes of the Font Roja massif, inside the boundaries of Ibi, the municipality that holds most of the natural park of the same name. Covering 53 hectares — 44 of woodland and 9 of old dryland terraces planted with almond, olive and cereal — it is one of the reference botanical sites of inland Alicante.

A protected research site

The station was created in 2003 through an agreement between the University of Alicante and Ibi town council, and is linked to the university's Centro Iberoamericano de la Biodiversidad (CIBIO), which uses it for teaching and field research. In 2007 the Generalitat declared it a flora microreserve, a status aimed at rare or endemic species of the area, and it later also gained recognition as an entomological reserve.

What to see

The visit takes in ethnobotanical collections of medicinal, aromatic and fruit plants traditional to the Comunitat Valenciana, a garden laid out on a medieval plan, themed greenhouses and a cypress maze. One section groups species traditionally associated with magic or with poison, labelled alongside the medicinal and culinary ones, a way of setting out the area's folk plant knowledge. The grounds can be visited freely or with an environmental guide, and also work as a starting point for other trails around Font Roja, most of which lies within Ibi's own municipal area. The comarca has another protected natural space nearby in the Sierra de Mariola, across the boundary in Alcoy.

Entry is free, and the garden is pleasant to visit at any time of year, though spring brings the fullest flowering across the collections. It is included in the guide to parks and gardens in Alicante, alongside other green spaces in the province.