Las Virtudes: Sanctuary, Festivals and Trails
Accommodation in Las Virtudes
The present-day Santuario de las Virtudes and the present-day monastery originated from an expansion carried out in the 16th century of an original hermitage.
Culture and History
The church of the Santuario de las Virtudes has three naves and was built in the Gothic style. The Baroque Camarín is decorated with stucco and 18th-century paintings; the paintings depict Marian allegories.
Nearby is the archaeological site of Cabezo de la Virgen 1, on the plateau-shaped summit of Cabezo de la Virgen; at the foot of the mountain, the Fuente del Chopo once sprang. Nearby, the archaeological finds from Cabezo de la Virgen 1 point to the Bronze Age, the protohistoric period and the Middle Ages.
Festivals and Traditions
Las Virtudes celebrates its local festivals every year in July. The July festivals of Las Virtudes begin with a traditional Pregón de Fiestas. The annual presentation gala of the Lagunera takes place during the July festivals of Las Virtudes on the esplanade of the Santuario de las Virtudes.
The present-day Día del Voto takes place on the Sunday after Easter; the present-day Día de la Esclavitud takes place on the Sunday after the end of the patron-saint festivities. The Fiestas de Navidad y Reyes of Las Virtudes have been recognised by the Generalitat Valenciana as a festival of local tourist interest.
The central programme of the Fiestas de Navidad y Reyes of Las Virtudes includes the Autos Sacramentales, featuring the Adoration of the Three Kings, the Flight into Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents. The Agrupación de Fiestas de Navidad y Reyes de Las Virtudes in Villena has kept the tradition of the Christmas celebrations alive since 1926.
At the end of August, the image of the patron saint is carried in a pilgrimage from the Santuario de las Virtudes to Villena so that it can preside over the festivities held in her honour. The local tradition includes two annual votos, in which the sanctuary is visited in gratitude for the eradication of the disease.
Trails and Landscape
The PR-CV 197 Puente de los Espejos – La Encina – Santa Eulalia – Las Virtudes – La Zafra hiking trail passes through Las Virtudes in its official sequence. It is listed as a linear trail with a length of 47.35 km. Near Las Virtudes, the PR-CV 197 passes the Salinas de Penalva; the route then crosses the old Camino de la Verge.
The Vía Verde del Xixarra begins at the Santuario de las Virtudes in Villena. It can be travelled on foot, by bicycle and in a wheelchair. The Vía Verde del Xixarra uses 15 km of a former railway line measuring 84 km in total, which ran along the foothills of the Sierra de Mariola. The different lengths, routes and modes of transport provide an objective way to compare trails according to the desired activity profile.
When comparing holiday apartments in Las Virtudes, you can check travel dates, accommodation category and cancellation conditions side by side on the respective offer pages. The information can be compared with the different focuses on sacred history, festival traditions and trails, depending on which topics shape your trip.
Other Places
La Nucia, La Vall De Gallinera, Gata De Gorgos, Aigües, Salinas, Xaló, Villena and Bigastro
Getting There
Access is possible for people with reduced mobility, including wheelchair users accompanied by a support person, via a ramp on the left-hand side.
To the main travel overview: Alicante.
