El Puig

El Puig, officially El Puig de Santa Maria since 2012, is a village situated 15 km north of the city of Valencia in the comarca of Horta Nord, Spain. Its name means "hill" in Valencian). The municipality comprises three main areas, the first being the village itself, which is dominated by a monastery, and two large wooded hills next to it, the largest of which has the ruins of a castle fortress at the top. Originally, however, there was another hill named La Pedrera which disappeared gradually during the 20th century to make way for the V-21 motorway, with the rock being used to construct one of the jetties at Valencia's port. The second section is the coastal area of 4 km of beach with eight housing developments that are generally only inhabited in the summer; and finally, there is an industrial park located between them.The village is well connected, with direct access to the V-21 Valencia to Barcelona motorway and a short distance away from the A-7 Valencia bypass. There is also the RENFE C-6 Valencia to Castellón de la Plana local train service from the village every half hour, and an hourly bus service to Valencia via El Puig beach.EconomyUntil very recently the economy has basically been agriculture, however it is in a state of gradual transformation towards an industrial plan, which is fundamentally based on the metal industry. The types of agriculture in El Puig include cattle, poultry, pig farming, corn and other crops but by far the main economic income is through the cultivation and export of oranges. The industrial sector has a number of sheet metal factories, food processing plants, wood product manufacturers, a beer and ionized water manufacturer and many other trade sector related activities. The fishing industry has disappeared but its beaches are now very much in demand in the summer with its residential urbanisations.