All is well
A PROJECT to restore two snow well caves in the Sierra de Mariola is going to be carried out by the regional government for up to €714,000.
The Cavas de la Habitación and del Buitre in the municipality of Agres form part of Alicante province’s most emblematic complexes of snow wells and caves, explained regional director general for the environment, Julio Gómez.
Both of these constructions are classified as assets of local relevance, and La Habitación is also a monument of local interest and del Buitre a space of ethnological interest.
The initiative arose from the natural park committee and a study by the regional department for the ecological transition, about the history, geography, culture and customs of the area and its people in relation to the old ice production facilities, which proposed that they should be consolidated to prevent further deterioration.
The work will involve restoring the roofs and the interior and exterior walls, as well as the access galleries, the interior floors and the exterior of the entrances.
The contract also includes launching a project to interpret this natural heritage.
The 17th century Cava de la Habitación is by the refuge on Montcabrer mountain and has a nine metre exterior diameter, excavated partially into the mountainside at an altitude of 1,200m, with a 7m interior diameter and a depth of 10m, which is full of rubble.
The Cava del Buitre, which dates from the first half of the 18th century, is in a ravine west of Resingle on the north face of the sierra at 1,220m, has exterior and interior diameters of 11m and 8.2m respectively and is 6.8m deep.