Puig Campana

Puig Campana is a mountain forming part of the Prebaetic System in the southeast of Spain. With an altitude of 1406m, it is the second highest peak in the province of Alicante. Puig Campana is located in the municipality of Finestrat only 10km from the Mediterranean coast.From the base of the mountain it may seem that there is only one peak, but in fact there are two, the taller of which is not easily visible from the base of the mountain. The western of the two peaks has a pronounced crack or notch, historically this feature has been known colloquially as the El Portell (The Gate) although in recent times it has come to be known by a number of other names such as Roldan’s Notch (Brecha or Tajo de Roldán in Spanish).A large part of the vegetation on the north eastern side of the mountain was burnt by a wildfire in 2009. The fire started on 24 January of that year when a high voltage electricity pylon was blown over by a strong wind. Some 1,000 hectares were reduced to ashes and around 15,000 people were evacuated from 25 urbanizations. The best method for the reforestation of the mountain is currently being studied. Although five years after the disaster the area is still in a state of complete abandon.The Legend of Puig CampanaThe notch that is present in the western peak of Puig Campana has given rise to a number of legends, or in reality to multiple versions of the same legend.One version of the legend is a version of the one that relates to La Brèche de Roland, which is located in the Pyrenees. The local version says that the French hero Roland, commander of Charlemagne’s army, became embroiled in a sword fight with the head of the Moorish army and the duel finished on the top of the mountain. At one moment in the battle the Moorish leader was flung to the ground and Roland lifted his sword, Durandarte, in order to deal his enemy a final blow. However, he missed the prostrate figure and the force of the blow cut a chunk out of the mountain, which fell into the sea. This rock is still visible as Benidorm Island and the gash that Roland made in the peak of the mountain still bears his name.