Cave needs looking after

THE Cova Tallada cave needs protecting from accident-prone excursionists. 

The emergency services were recently called out to rescue a Cova Tallada excursionist for the umpteenth time this summer.  On this occasion it was a 30-year-old woman overcome by heatstroke when temperatures hit 40°C as she trekked to the beauty spot.

The sea cave in the San Antonio Marine Reserve is accessed by a winding cliff path and Local Police officers, a helicopter, ambulance and a Fire Brigade rescue unit were all mobilised to come to her aid.

But the cave also needs protecting from the kayaks and canoes that use it as a parking space, the Ciudad de Denia Facebook group complained.  

This latest grievance highlights the massification that conservationists and ecologists maintain put the cave at risk.  It also echoes earlier statements from Joan Sala, chairman of the Montgo National Park’s board of governors, who has already called for limited access to the cave.   “At the very least numbers should be limited as they are in other natural spaces,” he said.

The Generalitat has no intention of prohibiting the excursions that approach the Cova Tallada from the sea, especially as tourism in the Marine Reserve is non-polluting, regional government sources revealed.   But it is likely to impose restrictions to ensure that an excessive number of visits during the high season do not harm the cave.