In fact rice for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper too! Any Spanish housewife worth her salt will have cupboards full of the stuff – and the best is from the region of La Albufera, in Valencia on the East coast of Spain. Perhaps Valencia is better known for it’s Oranges, it is the Costa del Azahar - Orange Blossom Coast – after all.
But once a year the humble rice grain is celebrated in style, at the Fiesta del Arroz in Sueca.
Pack your biggest Paella pan and come to Sueca in September!
Travelling from Valencia
You’ll find Sueca just 34kms from the city of Valencia, and at only 3 metres above sea level, the sun will almost be guaranteed to greet you as you step from the plane.
After you’ve picked up the hire car and headed out, take a bit of time on your route to enjoy the fantastic beaches of the sandbar, La Dehesa, that separate the salt waters of the Mediterranean Sea from the fresh water of L’Albufera, the largest lake in the whole of Spain.
If you’re a birdwatcher, ensure that you have the binoculars handy as the dunes along the way – both fixed and mobile – will provide you with plenty of bird-life to spot. There are also plenty of nudist beaches here, so you may want to put the binoculars away!
The lake between Valencia and Sueca
Twitching
The Albufera Natural Park is worth more than a quick glance, and is one of the most important wetland sites in the Iberian Peninsula – a great amount of wading birds can be seen here and you can take a trip around the lake by boat. If you take the specially designated Albufera Bus Turistic, it will give you a guided tour of the whole park and the price includes the aforementioned boat trip. The tour also explains the eco-systems in place for the rice fields.
The park information office, Rocó de L’olla can be found in El Palmar tlf: 961 62 73 45
Tickets are €13 for adults and €10 for children and you can use the bus over a 24 hour period, choosing from 4 different routes in Valencia.
The rice fields
Grainy destination
Passing through the closely planted, heavily scented pine forests and dunes and you will come through the wide open countryside of the rice fields, between Cullera and Sueca, your destination.
A town of nearly 30,000 inhabitants, just 8kms from the warm Mediterranean sea is home to one of the best and biggest fiestas that Valencia has to offer. This is one of the best areas for Spanish fiestas, whether you come for the fires of Las Fallas in March or to throw tomatoes at La Tomatina in August, or this month for the great Paella cook off of the Fiesta del Arroz….ready, steady, cook….!
Lining up the winning entries
Hot competition
It certainly is!
Contestants and Ingredients can be from anywhere in the world, apart from the rice! The hard and fast rule is that the rice must be from this area, because it is the best Paella rice in the world, of course! This year the big cook off begins on the 11th September.
Teams of chefs from all across the globe apron- up to compete against each other on the Paseo de la Estación.
The event lasts 10 days in all and contains lots to do with special storytelling tents, dancing, eating and drinking, fireworks and music.
The local saint Virgen de la Sales is celebrated at the same time, the last night is a giant Paella for all to enjoy and more mad fireworks lighting up the sky. Also, a horse parade finishes off the fiesta in style. (clearly deaf horses!)
tasting time
Downtown
Sueca itself?
Apart from the rice attraction, the area is surrounded by lovely open countryside, a nice day out from the hustle of Valencia...where you can choose from one of these lovely holiday rental homes, for your stay on the Orange Blossom Coast…
A wonderful city, a beach along some of the best coastline in Spain, a lake to go messing about on the water, what more could you want?!
Sueca, separated from the sea by the peaks of the Serra de Cullera, is steeped in Moorish traditions, note the many turreted and domed buildings, and the plethora of horseshoe shaped arches everywhere. Look up to find the blue tiled domes and remember the camera!
Explore the little winding streets and sample the locally caught fish seafood and rice dishes of course if you have not already overloaded on that! You can almost smell the rich aromas of garlic, saffron and olive oil…
Blue tiled dome, a Moorish past
Seasons in the sun
So, remember to leave the bright lights of Valencia for a day or more and make sure to see Sueca…just like watching the trees change colour in Autumn, come and see the Rice fields change from jewel like green to glistening gold with the change of season.
flickr accreditation sangutxujai/Gregory Palmer/estrelas e limóns/Fernando Cuenca Romero
