Costa Blanca Towns: Pilar de la Horadada
Located 66 km south of Alicante and only 1 km north of the regional border with the Province of Murcia, Pilar de la Horadada is the southernmost town of the Valencian Community. The town and its neighbouring villages are home to thousands of European expatriates.
An intriguing place name
The origin of the name Pilar de la Horadada has to do with the construction of coastal watchtowers that were very common in Spain already in medieval times. They served especially to spot and repel pirate incursions. One of these towers was named after the water-hollowed rock (“roca horadada”) upon which it was erected. With a population of 23,000 and surrounded by extensive agricultural lands, Pilar de la Horadada is a busy market town. Over the past twenty years, it has seen plenty of property development, both inland, on the seaside, and in the town centre itself.
Pilar de la Horadada has more than five kilometres of fine-sand beaches, a good part of them with natural dunes. All fly the European Blue Flag awarded for a high level of quality, safety and services. Two of the most popular beaches are Las Higuericas and Las Villas.
Pilar benefits from the proximity of two international airports, Region de Murcia (RMU) and Alicante-Elche (ALC). The approximate driving times are 35 and 50 minutes, respectively.
One of Spain’s best golf courses
Lo Romero is a spectacular 18-hole golf course situated a five-minute drive from the centre of Pilar de la Horadada. It is set in natural terrain with pine trees and boasts one of Spain’s most challenging holes, the “signature” 18th, surrounded almost completely by water. A very popular and reasonably priced destination, Lo Romero ranks among Spain’s top-10 golf courses in the number of user reviews.
Lo Romero ranks among Spain’s top-10 golf courses in the number of user reviews
A popular seaside resort
The little village that formed around the watchtower, Torre de la Horadada, is nowadays a well-known seaside resort with several Blue Flag beaches and a marina. Popularly known as La Torre, it belongs in administrative terms to Pilar de la Horadada and enjoys the same good-quality infrastructure and amenities as the main town. Apart from attracting Northern-European beach lovers, also many families from Murcia and Madrid have a second residence in La Torre – no wonder that the population of 2,600 gets multiplied by six in the summer months!
