With some luck, it may be possible to locate one of the operations dedicated to saving centuries old olive trees from construction sites (for roads, golf courses and other projects) and then finding “homes” for them. Local millenary oils are also for sale at the Tourist Office. "It is difficult to find a Farga olive tree that is younger than 200 years old," explains Jaume Antich, former mayor of Ulldecona and now an adviser at, "They tend to be less productive than other varieties, therefore they went out of favor for a really long time.". Although it's possible to reach Ulldecona by train, we recommend traveling by car. They’ve been a small family producer since 1884, and their star product is their extra virgin olive oil from their thousand year old olive trees, made with the local farga varietal. var s = d.createElement(sc), p = d.getElementsByTagName(sc)[0]; Despite being related to olive trees, a plant whose fruit and oil are world, renowned for their immense health benefits - … Italy and Greece are the other two world heavy weights with over 1.4 million hectares and more than 700,000 respectively. As a note of interest the trees in Italy and Greece have a slightly higher yield than those in Spain. Rather than purchasing the tree, the new owner simply pays for the salvaging, storage and replanting. In ancient times it was believed that olive trees had to be planted near the sea in order to thrive, but modern agricultural techniques have overcome such barriers. The other players in the top ten include (in descending order) Turkey, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Portugal. There's a perfect beach for every week of the year. The growing popularity of the Mediterranean diet and increasing consumer interest in food provenance have opened up new opportunities for olive oil entrepreneurs. Booking.com However, Peset has still found a lucrative market for his oil in China and other Asian countries. Here, some 8,000 years ago, groups of huntsmen left their pictorial mark in a series of open rock shelters. Types of olive trees in Andalusia Picual olive tree. Follow the road from Ulldecona to Tortosa for around four kilometers. But it is supposed they are at least similar, and the fact that these historical trees are still cultivated does provide locals with a strong connection to past centuries. s.src = u + '?v=' + (+new Date()); The local train service is infrequent and the various sites of interest are scattered around a a radius of several kilometers from the town center. His 100ml bottles of saffron-infused millenary oil are not only consumed at the table, but sold for cosmetic use too. Those looking for even older artifacts can't miss the cave paintings at nearby Serra de Godall. ALL OF THESE ANCIENT OLIVE TREES are at our plantations, near Alicante airport in Spain and immediate delivery can be arranged. A certification scheme has also been created in order to guarantee the provenance of millenary olive oils and underpin its image in consumer markets. Guided tours can be booked through Ulldecona Tourist Office. (function(d, sc, u) { There are many cultivars of olive trees, and most new kinds come from Italy and Spain Olive trees are cold hardy to zone 7 and have been growing for centuries in the snowy mountains of Northern Greece, Italy and Spain. Garden centres also offer well developed mature trees. Olives Trees Under 10,000€. But olives are also cultivated in Lebanon, California in the United States and parts of Argentina and New Zealand, Australia and Chile, for example. His annual yield of millenary olive oil is around 800 liters, harvested from more than a hundred scattered trees. 10 local producers are now making their own brands of millenary olive oil. The oils can also be tried at the Michelin-starred Les Moles and L'Antic Molí restaurants in Ulldecona. Picual, is the most important olive variety in Spain. p.parentNode.insertBefore(s,p); Keep up to date with the latest about Coronavirus in Andalucia, Spain. 'Olive tree leprosy' could have a catastrophic effect on the future of olives in Greece, Italy, and Spain. One thing hasn’t changed, however, and that is the olive tree’s love of tough, rocky soil and craggy limestone cliffs. Amador Peset used to work as a carpenter, but when Spain's construction boom ended a few years ago, the 37-year-old switched to making olive oil. It is well known that olive trees were cultivated in the south of Spain during Roman times. The navies of these two superpowers of antiquity clashed within sight of the village in the decisive Battle of Ebro River in 217 BC. Perhaps surprisingly, these hearty trees produce better fruit and oil in poor soil than they do in rich, fertile earth. The plot we visited belongs to the Vilar family, who produce the award winning Vilar Milenario olive oil. The oldest olive tree in Spain! Disposing of old/ defunct computer equipment. Join us on a 12-month journey to see them all, 14 Spanish dishes you should try -- from churros to jamón. A tour of the olive groves can be easily complemented by visiting the remains of one of the nearby cliff-top Iberian settlements dating back to around 600 BC. Every one of them is unique in its own way, while contributing to a harmonious whole. Having begun with his own small plot of millenary trees, Peset now drives around the region finding other ancient trees that are being neglected by the landowners.