The Mascarat ravine is a gorge that opens in the terrain between the towns of Altea and Calpe, in the province of Alicante, Spain. This canyon made it impossible until the 19th century to have an easy and comfortable path between on town and the other, forcing the transport carriages of the time to make a difficult and dangerous journey through the Calpe pass.

   The origin of its name lies in the existence the area of a masked bandit { mascarat in the local Valencian language means masked }, who assaulted the stages { public and postal transport vehicles of the time, drawn by horses }, taking advantage of the difficulty of the ways. However, there is also another less recognized explanation, such as that its origin is in the Iberian word maka-as { cut stone }.

   The gorge is a narrow corridor with vertical walls one hundred meters high, which is located in the foothills of the Sierra de Bernia, where it reaches the sea. It is the natural border between the Alicante regions of Marina Alta and Marina Baja.

   To overcome this natural obstacle and facilitate communications, the project for a new highway began in 1844, although completion had to wait until 1885. The great problem to be solved in the planned civil works was the construction of a 32 meter long bridge that joined both sides of the gorge and at a height of 60 meters.

   In 1868 the necessary tunnels were dug to cross the lateral rock promontory and locate the abutments of the bridge. In the year 1871 the construction of the aforementioned bridge began, but the work was very slow and little progress was made. In addition, during its course, the work must with stand storms and floods with loss of material and destruction of work already done. Finally, it was inaugurated in May 1885. 

   Given the narrowness of this road for the growing traffic, in 1961 its replacement was planned for a wider variant adapted to new needs. This involved a new 65 meter long bridge and new tunnels. The work was opened to traffic in 1968. Previously, in 1915, another metal bridge 43 meters long for railway service had been put into service towards the interior of the ravine and at a greater height. 

   In this way, there are currently three bridges in this pass: The old ashlar bridge from the year 1885, already in disuse and closed. The new concrete bridge from 1968, through which the N-332 national highway currently passes. And the metal bridge from 1915, through which line 9 of the Alicante Metropolitan TRAM passes, on its route from Benidorm to Denia.

   The area of this ravine is part of hiking and climbing routes and " bungee jumping : jumps are made from the new bridge.