Local Info & Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) Orba

Orba


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Orba is another beautiful small Spanish town in which to while away the hours in street cafés, just watching the world go by.  Only 18km inland from the coast, with the nearest large town being Denia, Orba retains its true Spanish character, despite the influx of foreigners choosing to live there.

The town itself offers plenty of amenities; as well as the usual bars and restaurants there are small supermarkets, a doctor and dentist, hairdressers and even an outdoor activity centre.  The village is surrounding by wonderful mountain scenery (with plenty of fantastic walks) and retains plenty of traditional Spanish charm.  People are friendly and only too willing to help, whether you speak Spanish or not.

The name Orba is Arabic, coming from the words Ur-Obia, meaning ‘the place where water flows from the mountain’.   The Moors settled in this area and it was them that made the many terraces that can be seen descending from the mountains.  These terraces served to help the growth of the olive and citrus trees, which still are the main source of income for the area.  Today tourism also supplements the region.

After the defeat of the Moors Orba became almost totally depopulated and it wasn’t until people were brought in from surrounding villages and the island of Mallorca that the village began to flourish again.  Agriculture started to become important again and the village slowly re-built itself to what it is today.

Just outside Orba the tiny village of Orbetta can be found.  This is really a small urbanisation that is home to many foreigners, but instead of the usual feel of everyone living on top of each other and all the houses being the same, each has a feeling of individuality.  There are also a couple of very good bars in Orbetta, meaning if you live there you don’t need to walk far to get a drink and some tapas.

Orba celebrates its main fiesta at the end of July and in true Spanish form the partying goes on well into the night. 

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