Orba- Capital of the "Orange Valley"

The beautiful Marina Alta is blessed with stunning scenery and an extraordinarily diverse collection of towns and villages: From tiny Spanish villages on rural, mountian side locations, such as Tormos, with a population of under 400, to larger coastal towns like Denia, with a population of over 42,000. 

Here at Jacaranda Spain, one of the most popular towns, on our portfolio, for ex pats to relocate to is Orba. With a population of under 2,500, it has a village feel but with larger supermarkets, banks and schools as well as a multitude of bars and restaurants, it also has the buzz of a town with plenty going on.

The town has a full size communal swimming pool and sports complex with courts for tennis, padel, football, basketball and handball. This serves as an excellent social centre for families, with a picnic area and play parks for the kids. This municipal centre also has one of Orbas favourite, family pizzerias. All of the team at Jacaranada Spain love to take guests and visitors here. The atmosphere is relaxed, the food is great, reasonably priced and, a big bonus, the kids can play in the park while they wait for their pizza!    

The history of Orba is fascinating. The name comes from the arabic “Ur-Obia”, which means, “place where water flows from the mountains”. After the expulsion of the Moors from Valencia in 1609, Orba was abandoned and left uninhabited until 1611 when it was repopulated with people from Murla, Pego and Mallorca. The beautiful parish church of “El Nacimiento del Señor” (Birth of the Lord) was built on the site of the original mosque. The distinctive square bell tower was built later on, in the mid 19th century. 

The countryside surrounding the town is agricultural, with citrus fruit, olive and almond orchards. In fact, the Orba Valley is also known as the “Orange Valley”. 

The water from the mountains was chanelled into a complex irrigation system and two original wash houses, Font de Dalt and the Font de Baix, where the town folk used to come and do their laundry. Although this would have been before the advent of washing machines, some of the older local people still use it! 

Font de Baix

The countryside around the town is simply breathtaking, with easy access to many mapped walking routes. One of which takes in the “Castillo de Orba”. This is the ruin of the watchtower, built in the 13th century to guard against invasions. The views from here are spectacular!

Orba is also famous for artisan crafts, especially ceramics. The town is home to a ceramic museum “Museu del Fang”, which exhibits pieces that tell the story of the history of ceramics in  the area.

There are also several ceramic shops in Orba which sell unique pieces, all hand made on the premises. “Argiles La Caleta” sell beautiful, rustic pieces. Check them out on facebook;  https://www.facebook.com/assagador/

All of the towns and villages in the Marina Alta have fiestas throughout the year but Orba fiestas are particularly popular. The second weekend in May is the fiesta of the Patron saint, “Virgen de los desamparados” (Lady of the Forsaken), then “Santo Cristo de Orbeta” is the second weekend in July and the “Fiestas Populares” are the last friday in July to the first Saturday in August. 

Orba is a wonderful Spanish pueblo, with a lot to offer those who want to relocate to Spain full time. It has all your amenities including 4 banks and 2 large hardware and home interior stores (DASI and Marorba). There is a large ex pat community, very much accepted by the local people, but the town is still fiercely proud of its traditions and culture. At fiesta time you will find Spanish and foreign residents, enjoying each others company and faithfully respecting the customs!

Equally, it is a great town to own a holiday home with great rental potential. You have peace and quiet, within only 20 minutes drive to the beach and the cosmopolitan, coastal town of Denia. There are great links to the main AP7 motorway and the airports of Alicante and Valencia are less than an hour away.

Take a look at this fabulous 5 bedroom family villa in Orba;

https://www.jacarandaspain.com/property/1659/villa-for-sale-orba-with-five-bedrooms.html

For more great properties to suit your budget search the web site or call us for an informal chat. We would love to discuss your wish list with you!