The Fuentes del Algar occupy a limestone gorge 15 kilometres inland from the Costa Blanca shoreline, where snowmelt from the Serra de Bernia has carved a sequence of travertine pools fed by year-round springs. The site opened to the public in 1994 under a conservation concession that capped daily visitor numbers and imposed a five-euro fee to fund trail maintenance and water-quality monitoring. Today the waterfalls form the second half of a twin-destination itinerary that pairs coastal departure points—Alicante, Benidorm, or Calpe—with the cliffside village of Guadalest, then descends into the Callosa d'en Sarrià valley for a two-hour stop at the cascades. Guadalest itself clings to a volcanic crag above the Guadalest reservoir, accessible only through a tunnel carved into the rock in the 12th century. The village lost its Moorish castle keep to an 1644 earthquake, but the bell tower and defensive walls remain, and the population has stabilised at 200 permanent residents who operate seven private museums in converted grain stores. Most guadalest and algar waterfalls tour from alicante tours allocate 90 minutes for the village—enough to walk the ramparts, photograph the reservoir from the mirador, and visit one museum—before continuing 25 kilometres south to the waterfalls. The Algar site comprises 1.5 kilometres of wooden walkways threading past four main cascades, the tallest of which drops eight metres into a pool deep enough for swimming between April and October. Water temperature holds steady at 17 degrees Celsius regardless of air temperature, fed by aquifers that percolate through porous calcareous rock. The trail gradient never exceeds six percent, making the circuit accessible to most fitness levels, though the final 200 metres to the uppermost pool involve 47 stone steps without a handrail. Spanish environmental law prohibits glass containers, amplified music, and dogs within the reserve boundaries, and rangers enforce a no-lifeguard policy that places liability on swimmers. The conservation fee grants same-day re-entry, but few tours allow time for a second loop. Day trips from Alicante follow the AP-7 toll motorway north to the Callosa exit, then climb the CV-715 mountain road through terraced almond groves and carob plantations. Most operators include Altea—a whitewashed coastal town with a blue-domed church—as a photo stop, extending total travel time to eight hours round-trip. Small-group tours cap capacity at eight passengers and substitute minivans for coaches, shaving 20 minutes off the Guadalest ascent by using narrower access roads closed to full-size vehicles.