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Ultimate Guide to Cliff Jumping and Wild Camping in Anna Valencia

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Cliff jumping is a thrilling activity which includes throwing yourself off a cliff/rocks/ledge and allowing your body to free fall into a body of water.

This might involve a ´run up´ to the edge allowing you to generate some speed and momentum for the jump. Or it could involve carefully accessing a precarious ledge before jumping in.

This outdoor activity is commonly carried out on the coast with adventurers jumping from cliffs into the sea. However, it can also be undertaken in natural pools, lakes, reservoirs, ravines and rivers.

Typically, people practice a “Pencil jump” when cliff jumping: You jump in feet first, toes pointed down, and legs together, with your arms held close to your body.

If you prefer to try Cliff Jumping for the first time with a guide, there are two awesome trips that you can do from Javéa:

  1. Kayaking, Snorkelling and cliff jumping including a visit to the unchartered Marine Reserve cave (Cova dels Orgens) 
  2. Kayaking in beautiful calas, Snorkelling, and Cliff jumping into the blue lagoon on the Isla de Portixol. I have jumped into this lagoon myself and it was a pretty cool experience!
Cliff Jumping in the Blue Lagoon on the Isla de Portixol

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In order to access some of these jumps, you might need to scramble up the ´cliff´ either from land (ground level) or directly from the water.

Scrambling is the action of manoeuvring over/up steep ground.

In general, it could be described as difficult hiking, or easy climbing (without any gear, such as ropes).  

When scrambling up rocks to do cliff jumping, the rocks may be slippery, due to wet hands, clothes, and shoes/feet. Therefore, it is a little different to scrambling in the mountains on a sunny day.

But scrambling directly from the water is definitely more fun!

The town of Anna located in the Region of Valencia has an abundance of natural water spots, some of which are perfect for this activity.

These locations have jumps that are suitable for beginners with the jumps ranging from 0-5 metres high.

So read on, and give cliff jumping a try!

The beautiful Gorgo de la Escalera from the top of the stairs, with cactus in the foreground
Gorgo de la Escalera
Some teenagers are cliff jumping at Fuente de Marzo
Cliff jumping at Fuente de Marzo

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In Anna, there are several locations where adventurers can enjoy cliff jumping…

  1. Fuente de Marzo 
  2. Gorgo Catalán
  3. Cascada del Salto
  4. Gorgo del la Escalera

Cliff jumping and Scrambling levels

The jumps and the scrambles up to them are accompanied by my completely subjective grading system. Here is a very rough guide…

Cliff jumping

  • SUPER EASY jump = 1 metre high
  • EASY jump = 2 metres high
  • MEDIUM jump = 3 metres high
  • HARD jump = 4 metres high. The place where you are jumping from might have uneven ground and therefore be more dangerous. You have time to think on the way down!
  • SUPER SCARY jump = 5+ metres high. The place where you are jumping from might be more dangerous due to uneven ground, or have rocks in the cliff or water that you need to jump out over.

Scrambling

  • SUPER EASY climb = Very short with good handholds/footholds. Could be done without the hands
  • EASY climb = Short with good handholds/footholds
  • MEDIUM climb = Longer/higher and/or steeper routes. Less good handholds/footholds
  • HARD climb = More vertical and/or with fewer or smaller handholds/footholds that need to be searched for
  • SUPER SCARY climb = Vertical with fewer and smaller handholds/footholds. You wish you had a rope!

"FUENTE DE MARZO"

Fuente de Marzo is a nature reserve situated just on the outskirts of the town of Anna.

It is a beautiful landscape with lots of green trees and bushes, and the view of the mountains in the distance.

The water in the ravine is crystal-clear and it has a family friendly atmosphere. There is a good variety of cliff jumping here!

Fuente de Marzo ravine. Perfect for cliff jumping
Fuente de Marzo ravine

Prefer HIKING along a waterway, visiting dams and a BEAUTIFUL WATERFALL along the way?

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Where to Park

You can access this place from two directions,

  1. From Anna (there is a turnoff just north of the petrol station) 
  2. From the main road CV-590

If you drive from Anna petrol station, you can park directly at Fuente de Marzo without having to walk. There is space at the side of the road for just a few cars.

If you drive via the main road, there is a dedicated parking area 

Then you will need to walk down the road for 5 minutes because this road leading to Fuente de Marzo is one-way.

*It is only actually sign-posted as one-way from this direction, and not from the other access point, so I suspect that this has been done to encourage you to use the parking spaces, and to encourage single car traffic, since the road is too narrow to facilitate it traffic both ways.

If you are already on the main road (for example, I drove there from Estubeny), then your satnav/GPS will direct you from there.

Cliff jumping locations at Fuente de Marzo
Google Maps™ mapping service is a trademark of Google LLC and this blog is not endorsed by or affiliated with Google in any way

Cliff jumping and Scrambling

When you first arrive at this location you will see the ´beach´ area, where you can easily walk into the water. I admit, that this part does not look appealing at all because the water is a brown/pink colour, and there are reeds growing around the left edge.

However, do not be disheartened…the beautiful crystal-clear water is not far away.

Continue walking for a few minutes up the slope with the water on your left, and you will end up looking down into the ravine-like terrain below.

Cliff jumping from the northern side

  • Walk to the bushes on the left corner of the rocky edge and get in the water there (SUPER EASY climb + SUPER EASY jump)
  • You can jump in several places from this northern side (EASY-MEDIUM jumps)

From the water

  • You can scramble up onto a ledge on the that is set back into the rock on the southern side. From here you can watch the adventurers jumping from above and landing into the water in front of you. Then you can jump in the water yourself from there, as long as there is nobody else jumping from above you! (EASY climb + SUPER EASY jump)
  • You can swim up the ravine, and jump from the big rocks in the water, into the deeper parts of the water (SUPER EASY jumps)
  • To get out on the northern side. There is an obvious rocky area just before the ravine meets the pool, on the left-hand side. You can get onto the flat rocky (wet) surface, and then scramble up the rock (EASY climb).

How to access the southern side

You can access the opposite edge in two ways…

  1. From the water, you can use the rope provided to scramble up the vertical but rocky wall (HARD climb)
  2. From the northern side you can walk back towards the road, find the footpath, follow it past the ruin until you reach the edge.

Cliff jumping from the southern side

There are 2 places to jump…

  1. From the top of the rope access, go left to the corner of the edge. Just after the corner, there is spot facing the road that you can jump form into the deeper part of the water (HIGH jump)
  2. Opposite the norther starting point, you can jump from here more of less into the same ´pool´ of water (SUPER SCARY jump)

From the end of the ravine

  • Cliff jumping. From the northern side, there is also an option to walk for a few minutes to the end of the ´ravine´ and jump in the pool from the path that crosses it (MEDIUM jump)

In August 2024, this part of the water – although crystal clear – had some broken-up algae growing on top of it, so people were not jumping in from here (I was tempted though!)

  • Quite close to this pool, the side of the ravine is quite high and steep. If you are brave, you could probably try and scramble up it (HARD climb).
The main pool at Fuente de Marzo is a brown-pink colour, with an old building in the background
Old building at Fuente de Marzo

TOP TIPS for Explorers

Ruin (old building)

There is an old building that you can investigate on the southern side of Fuente de Marzo.

Short circular walk (East)

From the entrance of Fuente de Marzo…

  1. Cross the road
  2. Walk between the trees to access a path that follows the left side of the river bed
  3. Walk for about 10 minutes
  4. Cross over the river bed to make this route circular, heading towards “Paseo Fuente de Marzo” 
  5. Return to Fuente de Marzo on the wide gravel track and small roads

Choose a track to cut through the farmland, cross the river bed and return to Fuente de Marzo on an unofficial path running along the north of the river bed.

 Distance: 1.5km

Time: 20 minutes

 

Long linear walk/run (West)

From the end of the ravine, you could walk or run for hours if you wanted to!!

You can either:

  1. Walk on the road to the north of Fuente Marzo
  2. Walk through the river bed that continues towards the west

These two options link up in many places, making it a circular route.

There are various obvious tracks that pass between the farmland/orchards, resulting in a route of at least…

Distance: 3km

Time: 40 minutes

The beautiful Gorgo Catalan with waterfall, pool and tree swing
Waterfall, pool and tree swing at Gorgo Catalán

"GORGO CATALÁN"

Gorgo Catalán is a ´swimming pool´ with a set of metal ladders to get it. There is also a ´handrail´ around one edge, like in a proper swimming pool, but it is rusty, and I didn´t dare touch it.

 

A unique feature here is the diving board (with metal handrails) as well as a tree swing! Cliff jumping and swinging. Great!

 

It has a very pretty waterfall running into it, as well as another small ´waterfall´ (stream) in the opposite corner.

 

There is also a small cave to the left, where people like to relax. There are a couple of picnic benches and a very small section of grass, but most people tend to hang out in the shade on the left side of the pool, or sitting on the concrete walls around it.

 

The water here seemed warmer compared to the other places, despite one side of it being in the shade of big trees. Even when I visited at 8.30am one day it didn´t feel cold!

 

It is not possible to walk into the water anywhere here.

However, there is a round concrete ´ledge´ hidden under the water around the smaller waterfall, which would be the only suitable place for a smaller child to stay (under the supervision of an adult!)

Diving board above the water at Gorgo Catalán
Diving board above the water at Gorgo Catalán

Where to park

This place has a dedicated car park.

Cliff jumping

There are three options for jumping here…

  1. From the edge on the right-hand side (SUPER EASY jump)
  2. From the diving board (MEDIUM jump)
  3. From the cliff to the right of the diving board, where the graffiti is (HIGH jump)

To access the diving board and the third cliff jumping location there are steps leading up the left-hand side, and then you have to cross through the top of the waterfall.

 

Warning!

  • The steps will be wet
  • There will be water falling from the left

This was the case when I went cliff jumping here in August 2024, so I suspect that after heavy rain it might be too dangerous to try. If you were to slip here, not only would you hit the rocks at the top with your head/body, but below the waterfall there are big tall rocks that you would fall towards.

Stairs leading up to cliff jumping at Gorgo Catalán
Wet stairs leading up to cliff jumping locations

TOP TIPS for Adventurers

There is a tree swing typically made from a rope tied to the middle of a length of wood.

However, on one occasion when I visited, a group had brought with them a selection of other materials (resembling gym slings) that they were attaching to the same tree in order to swing from it.

What could you use to make a tree swing?

If you like wild camping/bivvying, there are some secret wild camping spots very close to Gorgo Catalán.

Cliff jumping at Gorgo Catalán from the diving board to the left and the rock to the right
Diving board to the left and the cliff to the right (Gorgo Catalán)

"CASCADA DE SALTO"

This is a 20-metre-high waterfall that flows into a beautiful crystal-clear pool below. It is the third waterfall and the highlight of a short hiking route that begins in the town of Anna.

Fancy CLIFF JUMPING jumping below the famous ANNA WATERFALL?

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 In this article you can find out all about “La Ruta de las cascadas”…

  • Where to park
  • Where to hike
  • Cliff jumping opportunities
  • The top-secret route to access Gorgo de la Escalera…

Want to go on a guided tour of the Anna waterfalls including the Cascada de Salto?

"GORGO DE LA ESCALERA"

The Gorgo de la Escalera is a large canyon hidden away near the town of Anna, with 136 steps leading down into it.

It has been formed by the crystal-clear and cold water of the Sellent river.

There are natural pools with mini waterfalls, and the canyon ends where the water disappears and the Cascada del Salto waterfall begins.

Where to park

There is a dedicated car park.

From the car park, you will see a big long building with an information board in front of it.

Immediately after the building, there is a path on the left which will lead you down the 136 steps into the Gorgo de la Escalera. 

The beautiful Gorgo de la Escalera from the top of the stairs,with the wooden stairway showing
Jump from here!

Cliff jumping and Scrambling

There are points that you can jump from, which are all very close to each other (on the same rocky corner) …

  1. At the bottom of the stairs, walk to your right and go to the corner of the rock. You can jump in from here, towards the ravine. The water isn´t very deep here, but you can use it as a warm-up to get used to the very cold water! (SUPER EASY jump)
  2. At the bottom of the stairs, access the water at the very first opportunity on the right-hand side (which is like a ´beach´).

From the water, you can scramble up to a small ledge. The rock is vertical, but you scramble across and up it diagonally from right to left (HARD climb, EASY jump)

The next two jumps are right next to each other and can be access in two ways…

  • You can continue scrambling from the easy jump right to the top
  • You can ascend the stairs and climb over the fence here to scramble down some rocks and reach the edge.

 

  1. You can jump from the edge to the right (MEDIUM jump)
  2. You can jump from the top of the pointed rock to the left (HARD jump)

Warning!

  • The pointed rock isn´t ideal to jump from. It is not a flat surface and I have seen a few people almost trip while thinking about jumping
  • Slippery when wet. Not only is the rock pointed, but it is slippery from people´s wet feet/shoes that have already been in the water.
  • When you jump from here, you must jump as close to the hanging branch as possible, without actually jumping into it! This is the place where the water is the deepest.

If you jump to the left, the water gets shallower and your feet might touch the pebbled river bed. If you look carefully from above, you can see the shallow ground through the water since it is crystal clear.

Gorgo de la Escalera has a big rock near the bottom of the stairs that you can jump from
Do an easy jump from here!

TOP TIPS for Adventurers

If you visit Gorgo de la Escalera by car (and not via the waterfalls route), then you can scramble down the top-secret route in order to do more jumping in the Cascada del Salto.

TOP TIPS for Explorers

From the Gorgo de la Escalera, you can go on adventure in the Barranco de Gorgo.

You can swim west through the narrow ravine

Warning!

  • The ravine is fairly long, and you cannot stop to rest until you reach the end, so make sure that you are confident enough to swim
  • The water is particularly cold here, and combining that with being in the water for a prolonged period and being in the shade, you will feel chilly.

I swam this stretch in August 2024 in a bikini and beach shoes and I was shivering (but it was worth it!)

  • Wear beach/water shoes, as you will be walking through water and rocks.
Crystal clear water at Gorgo de la Escalera
Crystal clear water at Gorgo de la Escalera

WILD CAMPING

There are two wild camping spots that I have used…

  1. Low level camping spot
  2. Montot mountain

Where to park

You can access both of these wild camping wild locations from the same car park.

This is a small area that can accommodate a few cars, on the side of a country road.

It is just a 5-minute drive from Gorgo Catalán, so it is perfect for a quick sleep between cliff jumping adventures (especially if you have plans in Anna or nearby the next morning).

It also means that you can go to Gorgo Catalán for a quick ´bath´ in the morning.

Low level wild camping in a small tent near Anna
Low level wild camping spot

Low level wild camping

This camping spot is a big open space, with a few small trees/bushes.

It is the perfect spot for a windy night because it is very sheltered by the mountain and trees.

I recommend that you set up your tent right at the far end behind these trees, so that you cannot be seen from the path.

I stayed there twice in August 2024, and nobody else used the car park or was heard on the path nearby.

I do not recommend this camping spot if heavy rain is forecast, because flat terrain like this tends to flood easily and you will wake up in a ´swamp´. Also, you have to cross a stream to access this area, which could become difficult/unsafe to cross after heavy rain.

To access this, you must…

  1. Walk towards the Confluencia ríos de Anna y Sellent 
  2. Go down the steep slope
  3. Immediately turn left
  4. Walk through the bushes where you will cross the stream or dry river bed
  5. Follow the overgrown bushes to the left (towards the wooden post)
  6. Look right and you will see a big open space in front of you.

5-minute walk

Wild camping up a mountain in a small green tent with views of Anna and Chella
Mountain "Montot" camping spot

Mountain wild camping

This camping spot is about half way up “Montot” mountain, which is between Anna and Chella.

It has great views all around, and is only big enough to accommodate only one small tent.

To access this, you must…

  1. Walk to the low-level camping spot
  2. When you reach it, follow the path to the right
  3. As you reach the ´end´ of the mountain, take the path 90 degrees to your left going up and keep following it until you see a small flat area.

50-minute walk

I actually used both of these camping spots in the same night!! …

I originally hiked up the mountain because I love being up high, far away from civilisation, with good views to see the sunset and the sunrise.

However, there was a lightning storm nearby (although the weather was fine where I was), and I could smell fire for some time, as well as a siren that sounded quite close too.

The wind (and therefore the smell) was coming from the coast, but there were other mountains obstructing my view.

I got a bit paranoid about the smoke or fire spreading to where I was while I was asleep, so I decided to be cautious and packed up my tent in the dark and hike back down the mountain to camp on lower land, closer to my car. Always take a torch!

Some teenagers are cliff jumping at Gorgo Catalán
Cliff jumping at Gorgo Catalán

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What do I need to take?

THINGS TO PACK

Get ready for some cliff jumping!

  • Swimwear. For the ladies, I recommend that you don´t wear a thong or string bikini when cliff jumping! Since this trip, I have invested in a surfing style bikini which has big knickers and a full bikini top.

The pressure of the water when you start jumping from Medium-difficulty jumps requires clothing that doesn´t move and keeps everything tucked in! So, guys can apply that principle too!

  • Beach/water shoes are essential if you don´t want to fall from a cliff into the water unintentionally (I´ve seen it happen!)
  • Beach towel
  • Drinking water
  • Picnic (there are designated benches at Gorgo Catalán, and lots of space for picnic blankets at Fuente de Marzo and Gorgo de la Escalera)
  • Sun protection: Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, skin cover for when you´ve had enough, such as a t-shirt (there is little shade at Gorgo de la Escalera, especially if it is busy)
  • Insect repellent
  • Personal medication (these are wild places to visit, without staff or services, so if you have a medical emergency, it could take longer to get help)
  • Wild camping gear (Watch this space for articles about wild camping!)
Gorgo Catalán natural swimming pool ladder access
Gorgo Catalán natural swimming pool

Do I need to book or pay?

The only place that you will need to reserve is Gorgo de la Escalera between July-mid October if you enter directly from the car park.

It costs 3€ per person which also includes access to “Lago do Anna” (Anna lake).

Book here

You do not have to pay to enter the other places.

However, when you look at Fuente de Marzo on Google Maps™ mapping service it looks like tickets are required because the tourism agency have added a link under the “Tickets” section.

(Google Maps™ mapping service is a trademark of Google LLC and this blog is not endorsed by or affiliated with Google in any way)

However, this link leads you to their website where you can book other places to swim.

What facilities are there?

There are no facilities at any of the cliff jumping locations.

When is the best time to visit?

The best time to go cliff jumping is in the summer. When it is nice and hot, jumping into fresh cold mountain water is the perfect way to cool off!

However, you also need the water to be deep enough that you can jump in safely.

(In some places, the water can disappear completely!)

Therefore, if you want deep water, I recommend that you start cliff jumping early in the summer.

So start planning your trip now!

Crystal clear water at Fuente de Marzo
Crystal clear water at Fuente de Marzo
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