When you next take a visit to Montgó have a look for the elephant resting by the sea.
Sometimes, a single image can change how we see a familiar place. That is exactly what happened this week after an AI-generated video appeared on Instagram.
The account @xabia.ia shared the short clip, which reimagines the silhouette of Montgó as a stone elephant resting beside the sea. The video gives visual form to an idea many locals already know well.
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The video quickly caught attention online and prompted dozens of reactions. It also revived a comparison that many people in the area have heard before.
From certain angles, Montgó appears to resemble a reclining elephant. The AI video highlights that likeness and brings it into sharp focus.
Reviving old ideas
The post includes the caption, “Legend has it that a stone elephant watches over Xàbia. The old Montgó”. With that simple line, the video taps into long-standing local folklore.
Rather than revealing something new, the clip refreshes a familiar idea. It translates an old belief into a striking image designed for social media. Once viewers spot the elephant’s outline, they often struggle to look at the mountain in the same way again.
Where the Montgó elephant appears
The elephant shape does not appear from every viewpoint. People usually recognise it most clearly from Xàbia and the surrounding plain.
From this angle, the softer outline of the massif allows viewers to pick out the elephant’s back, head and trunk stretching towards the Mediterranean.
The legend of the resting elephant
Local oral traditions and literature across the Marina Alta describe Montgó as an elephant. One well-known tale tells of an old elephant that reached the sea after a long journey and decided to travel no further.
The animal lay down to rest, stretched its trunk towards the water and slowly turned to stone.
The elephant represents only one of many shapes people claim to see in Montgó. From different angles, some spot a human profile, a tortoise, a clenched fist or even a stone ship.
Enjoy more Spanish Myths & Legends.
