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NATURE IN

Laguna del Acebuche. Huelva

For a host of reasons, Spain possesses a remarkable natural environment.

Linked to Europe by the Pyrenees and to Africa, by the Strait of Gibraltar,

its coastline is bathed by two seas and an ocean, while its territory extends to

two unique archipelagos, one afloat on the Mediterranean and the other,

anchored off the west coast of Africa. In a word, Spain is a natural mosaic

unequalled by any other country in Europe.


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SPAIN

Pinar de Lillo. León Sand dunes. Parque Nacional Doñana. Huelva

Parque Nacional del Archipiélagode Cabrera. Balearic Islands

Laguna de Fuente de Piedra. Málaga

Autumn in Cazorla. Jaén

With over 400 designated natural areas occupying a surface area of more than 2.5 million hectares, the protection of practically all themain ecosystems found both on the peninsula and on the islands isguaranteed. As it would be impossible to offer a description of all of them, the scope of this booklet has been limited to an overview ofthe natural areas existing in Spain today.


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THEUPLANDS

Flora. Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido. Huesca

The Veleta Peak. Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada. Granada

Highland scenery, with altitudes of over

3,000 m, may be enjoyed in the

mountains of the Pyrenees and also in Sierra

Nevada, at the heart of the Penibética Range

in Andalusia. The Pyrenees might be seen as

an open-air museum of the glaciers formed

during the Quaternary.


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Spain’s mountainous regions are dotted with glaciers, alpine lakes and tarns, cirques and moraines, telling of the relentless might of the ice by which they were formed during the Quaternary.The Pyrenees are clad in coniferous forests climbing themountainsides until they finally make way for alpine meadows where chamois and other herbivorous species graze. Crystallinestreams, waterfalls, rapids and rivers enhance the landscape while on the lower, shadier slopes, the pines and firs of the higher regionsare replaced by beech forests.

A number of designated areas are to be found in the Pyrenees, the most noteworthy being the National Park located in the provinceof Huesca, Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido.Spreading over 15,608 hectares furrowed by four spectacular valleys,Ordesa, Añisclo, Pineta and Escuaín, the park possesses all thecharacteristics of a natural, upland area. In the province of Lleida,

Autumn in Valle de Benasque. Huesca


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Valle de Añisclo. Huesca

Parque Nacional de Aigües Tortes y Lago San Mauricio. Lleida

Lago de Marboré. Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido. Huesca

on the very axis of the Pyrenees, lies Parque Nacional de AigüesTortes y Lago de San Mauricio, rooted in a granite substratumbearing the indelible mark of glacial action.

Game and other animal and vegetable species forming part of theecosystem are protected at reserves marked off all over the range: inCatalonia, Alto Pallars-Arán, Cerdanya-Alto de Urgell and Freser-Setcases; in Aragón, Benasque, Los Circos, Viñamala and Los Valles.


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Cola de Caballo. Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido. Huesca

Sierra Nevada. Granada

Sierra Nevada, surveyed from an altitude of 3,482 m by thesummit of the Mulhacén, is the highest mountainous region on theIberian Peninsula. Unlike other alpine massifs, Sierra Nevada ischaracterised by somewhat monotonous, blunt contours, a far cryfrom the erect peaks of the Pyrenees. Nevertheless, this southernrefuge also shows signs of glacial action in the form of lagoons andmorainic deposits. Its main natural asset is its wealth of flora, withover 1,700 plant species, many of which are endemic.


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The Iberian

Peninsula is

replete with semi-

mountainous regions

which, while lacking the

breathtaking altitudes of

the Pyrenees and Sierra

Nevada, feature sizeable

massifs not only of great

beauty, but also of

tremendous ecological

significance on account

of their astonishing store

of flora and fauna.

THE SEMI-MOUNTAINOUS

REGIONS


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Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. Asturias

Fungi. Muniellos. Asturias

Brown bear. Asturias

Of particular interest in this sense are the Cordillera Cantábrica, the location of Picos de Europa; the Cordillera Central, the home ofSierra de Gredos; the Sistema Ibérico, or Iberian Mountain Chain; andthe Cordillera Bética.

The Cordillera Cantábrica runs right along the Cantabrian Coastfrom the Basque Country to Galicia. Of medium altitude, this rangereaches its greatest height on the massif known as Picos de Europa,where the National Park, Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa,covers an area of 64,000 hectares.


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Muniellos Beech Forest. Asturias

Valle del Río Ibias. Degaña. Asturias

Here, bears and wolves live alongside chamois and capercaillie in asetting of deciduous forests. All over the landscape, woods of beechand oak appear alongside other plant species, while herds of livestockgraze peacefully on the pasturelands.

This mountain chain boasts several designated areas of naturalbeauty, such as the Nature Park, Parque Natural de Urkiola, situatedin the Basque Country in a rugged, limestone region perforated withcaves and grottos. In the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, theNational Game Reserve, Reserva Nacional de Caza del Saja, sprawlingacross the region’s western half to include Parque Natural de Saja-Besaya, has one of the Cantabrian Coast’s finest beech forests, thehabitat of capercaillie, wolves, bears, deer and roebuck.

However, within the domains of the Cordillera Cantábrica, Asturiasis the region with the highest number of designated areas. ReservaBiológica Nacional de Muniellos is the zealous guardian of Spain’sprimary oak forest, which shares its soil with large clumps ofdeciduous trees. The reserve is the habitat of most of the vertebratesfound in these mountains. Other expanses under official protection inthe Cordillera Cantábrica include Degaña, Cangas de Narcea, SomiedoAller, Caso, Ponga and Piloña, not forgetting Ancares Leoneses,Fuentes Carrionas, Mampodre and Riaño in the province of León andAncares de Lugo, in Galicia.


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Lago del Ausente. Mampodre. León

Source of the River Sella. León

The Cordillera Central marks the end of the Castile-León plains,establishing an effective barrier between the two sub-plateaus. Its highest point is Sierra de Gredos, which is over 100 km long, with widths varying from 20 km to 30 km. The northern face drops in gentle albeit slightly irregular degrees to the moorlands of Ávila,situated at an altitude of more than 1,000 m. Quite the opposite occurs on the rugged southern face, where there is a sheer drop fromthe Almanzor peak, at 2,592 m, to the Tiétar Valley, at 400 m. These mountains are roamed by no less than 4,000 wild goats (Spanish ibex), looked on as the local emblem.

Running northwest-southeast, the Sistema Ibérico is another typical example of Spain’s semi-mountainous regions. The broadspectrum of designated areas includes the Game Reserve, ReservaNacional de Caza de la Sierra de la Demanda, swathed in superbTurkey oak forests and restocked Scots pine; the Reserve, Reserva deUrbión, equally attractive for its glacial lagoons and vast Scots pinewoods; the Nature Park, Parque Natural del Moncayo (Zaragoza), an awe-inspiring mass of oak and beech groves, woods of holm oakand Swiss mountain pine and clusters of Scots pine, forming a borderbetween the lowlands of Aragón and the tableland of Soria; and theGame Reserves, Reserva Nacional de Caza de los MontesUniversales (Teruel), with its characteristic jagged teeth, or greatrocky massifs jutting out from the earth in the form of practically


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Valle del Cena. Los Ancares. León

Naranjo de Bulnes.Asturias

Mountain goats. Gredos. Ávila

vertical walls, and Reserva de Caza de la Serranía de Cuenca, with countless hills and crags carpeted in pine woods. This reserve is the location of Rincón del Buitre, the site chosen to set up anexperimental game reserve known as Parque Cinegético Experimentaldel Hosquillo y los Callejones de las Majadas. The nearby CiudadEncantada, or Enchanted City, combines with the reserve to make up a limestone landscape where strangely-shaped rocks create, as the name says, an atmosphere of enchantment.

Sierra Morena acts as a dividing line between the Castilian plateau and the lowlands of the Guadalquivir Valley. Blanketed inMediterranean vegetation, this area of hilly woodland is the realm of holm oak, gall oak and cork oak, holding sway over mastic trees,laburnum, madrones and wild olive trees. The riverbanks are shadedby willows, alder trees and ash. These untamed lands, whose animalpopulation consists for the most part of deer, wild boar, fallow deer,otters, lynxes and wolves, are the backcloth of the Nature Park,Parque Natural de Despeñaperros, named after the spectaculargorge carved out of a natural fault by the Despeñaperros Rivulet. This gorge is the main throughway connecting Castile to Andalusia.The list of Nature Parks goes on to include Parque Natural de la


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Sierra de Andújar, encircling the Shrine of Nuestra Señora de laCabeza, the patron saint of hunters; Parque Natural de la Sierra deHornachuelos, featuring a fair-sized wood of cork oak and used as amajor nesting ground by birds of prey; Parque Natural de la SierraNorte de Sevilla, with a long mining tradition dating back to Romantimes; and Parque Natural de la Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche,with its dolmens and menhirs and the fascinating grotto known as Las Maravillas, where a gallery over one kilometre long may be visited by those eager to admire the cave’s myriad streams and pools.

The province of Jaén is endowed with Spain’s largest designated area, the Nature Park, Parque Natural de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas, a huge group of mountains linking Sierra Morena to the Cordillera Bética, closing off the Guadalquivir Basin to the east. It is here that the source of the River Guadalquivir is found, along with the extensive reservoir of Tranco de Beas.Bespattered with enormous woods of pine and holm oak, Cazorla has one of the largest forested areas in Spain to its name, whilenurturing an endless variety of endemic plants, such as the delightfulviolet, Violeta de Cazorla, and providing a home for a vast number of animal species.

Cirque. Gredos. Ávila

Ferns. Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. Asturias


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Sierra de Cazorla. Jaén Peñas de Aroche. Huelva

Sierras de Huétor. Granada

Sierra de Castril. Granada

The mountain ranges of Andalusia set the scene for the NationalPark, Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada, at the highest point on theIberian Peninsula. Among the major designated areas, Sierra de lasNieves, in the province of Málaga, is deserving of special mention.Situated in the natural region of Serranía de Ronda, its abrupt relief isgrooved with deep ravines, gullies and gorges, such as La Caina, which has a drop of over 100 m. The massif is alsoscarred by innumerable grottoes, chasms and caves peering out ontospreading forests of Spanish fir.


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Sierra de Grazalema. Cádiz

Reserva Nacional de Cazorla. Jaén

Sierra de Grazalema, the westernmost foothills of the CordilleraPenibética, lies in the north of the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga.Both on the surface and underground, the limestone range featuresseveral karstic phenomena. The majestic Bocaleones Canyon drops370 m towards two cavities jointly known as Ermita de la GargantaVerde (lit., Hermitage of the Green Canyon). Grazalema, the rainiestarea on the Iberian Peninsula, has the biggest forest of Spanish fir toits credit. The trees we see today are the remains of the great expansesof silver fir which were isolated when the ice receded in the wake ofglacial action during the Quaternary.

Last but not least, a few words should be spared for the NaturePark, Parque Natural de los Alcornocales, in the province of Cádiz.This group of medium-altitude ranges is covered in Mediterraneanscrub vegetation complemented by stunning patches of cork oak, thelargest collection of the species to be found in Spain.


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The Ebro Delta. Tarragona

Wetlands are essential habitats for the protection

of aquatic birds and migratory avifauna, which

use them for nesting, stopping over and wintering.

Geographically speaking, Spain is ideally situated on the

migratory route between Europe and Africa.

THE GREAT


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WETLANDS

Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel. Ciudad Real

Laguna de Gallocanta. Zaragoza

Geese. Doñana. Huelva

Spain’s principal wetland is the National Park, Parque Nacionalde Doñana, in the province of Huelva. The park’s striking saltmarshes provide refuge for millions of ducks and colonies of geesewhich head down from Northern Europe to winter by theGuadalquivir. However, Doñana has more to offer than its saltmarshes and littoral lagoons. It is also of great value for its system of moving dunes on their relentless march inland and for its immense wealth of fauna. In addition to giving a home toendangered species such as the lynx and the imperial eagle, the park is known for its “aviaries”, old cork oak trees where, year in,year out, colonies of herons, spoonbills and storks come to nest.

The Ebro Delta, covering 320 km2, is Catalonia’s largest wetland.Of prime importance in the region, it comes second on the IberianPeninsula, after Doñana. Its scenery is almost entirely taken up byrice fields, first cultivated in the late nineteenth century. Althoughthere is no shortage of fish, it is the bird population which reignssupreme, with over 315 recorded species. A birdwatcher’s paradise,the delta is visited by about 180,000 aquatic birds seeking refuge in


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winter and by 30,000 pairs of mating birds. The Aiguamolls del’Empordá, in Girona’s Bahía de Roses, consist of a medley of salt lagoons, fresh water pools, coastal dunes, flood plains, riversideforests and rice fields. Saved at the eleventh hour from urbandevelopment plans, they are now one of Catalonia’s key wetlandareas.

Another wetland region of note along the coast is the lagoon,Albufera de Valencia, girdled by rice fields and cut off from theMediterranean by a belt of shoreline known as El Saler. Split off from the sea about 6,000 years ago, it is a major wintering area forgeese. Further down the coast, in Alicante, we come to the SantaPola and Torrevieja Salt Flats, subjected to commercial exploitation since time immemorial and separated from theMediterranean by a narrow strip of dunes. The flats are visited by a host of different birds, including the colourful flamingo.

Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel. Ciudad Real

La Albufera. Valencia

Aiguamolls de L’Empordá. Girona

Bee-eaters


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El Rocío Salt Marsh. Huelva

Santa Pola Salt Marsh. Alicante

The peninsula’s inland is spotted with other important wetlands,such as the Laguna de Villafáfila in Zamora, where steppe birds likethe bustard and little bustard gather in great number and sizeablecolonies of ducks and geese find shelter in winter. Between theprovinces of Zaragoza and Teruel lies the lagoon, Laguna deGallocanta, in the depths of a vast basin formed by the tectoniccollapse of part of the Sistema Ibérico. The most valued fauna are thecranes, which use the lagoon and the surrounding fields as a courtingand nesting ground. Numbers have been known to surpass 60,000.

Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel is situated in theprovince of Ciudad Real in the heart of what is known as humid La Mancha, an extensive region blotched with inland lagoons andareas flooded by the rivers of Castile. This National Park, the smallestin Spain, has been in danger for several years now as a result ofprolonged, low-water periods and the abuse of its underground watersfor irrigation. An ambitious water recovery scheme has been put inplace to save the La Mancha wetland and its bulrushes and reeds,


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Doñana Salt Marsh. Huelva

Laguna Honda. Jaén

which draw thousands of aquatic birds in search of places to winter or stop over. Not far from Daimiel are the Lagunas de Ruidera, achain of 15 lagoons starting off at La Blanca and ending 120 metresfurther down at the Laguna del Cenegal. The lagoons are separatedfrom one another by natural barriers, some of which are crowned bymagnificent waterfalls. Traditionally, the Lagunas de Ruidera havebeen considered as the source of the River Guadiana.

The north of the province of Málaga is the location of Andalusia’s largest lagoon, the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra, whoseprized possession is its flamingo nesting ground, ranking second inimportance in the Mediterranean area and visited by as many as12,000 mating pairs. By and large, Andalusia is well-blessed withlagoons and reservoirs: Zoñar, Medina, Campillos …, whose calmwaters provide endangered species such as the sedentary duck, Oxyura leucocephala, and the purple gallinule with a place toreproduce.


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Laguna de Archidona. Málaga Santa Pola Salt Flats. Alicante


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Parque Nacional de Monfragüe. Cáceres

Monte de El Pardo. Madrid

Much of Spain is covered in

Mediterranean hilly woodland,

consisting in the main of holm oak, cork oak,

gall oak, wild olive trees, rock roses and

heather.

Although some of the natural spaces where this kind of vegetationis found were described in the section addressing semi-mountainousregions, it is in the Nature Park, Parque Nacional de Monfragüe, in the heart of the province of Cáceres, that the broadest and best-conserved range of specimens peculiar to the Mediterranean type ofhilly woodland and scrubland grow.

The park’s borders are marked by the Rivers Tagus and Tiétar as they flow along between two parallel mountain chains, whoseslopes are classified into two types, sunny and shady, each with itsown ecological characteristics. Accordingly, the slopes facing themidday sun are cloaked in holm oak and wild olive trees while the undergrowth is studded with rock roses. The shady slopes are overspread with cork oak, gall oak and madrones while theirundergrowth is relieved by heather and laburnum. This area’sexceptional mine of natural wealth is reflected in species like thelynx, the black vulture and the imperial eagle.

MEDITERRANEANHILLY WOODLAND


In the northeast of the province of Badajoz, the Game Reserve,Reserva de Caza de Cíjara, spreads around the enormous CíjaraReservoir, where aquatic birds gather in their hundreds. Alongside thevegetation characteristic of Mediterranean hilly woodland, large, reforested areas of umbrella and Austrian pine have grown into aseemingly infinite mass of groves and copses.

Straddled between the provinces of Toledo and Ciudad Real, theNational Park, Parque Nacional de Cabañeros, brings together a varietyof scenic features: ridges overlaid in Turkey oak and clumps of cork oak,holm oak and gall oak; undergrowth brightened up with rock roses andheather; and rañas, or steppes, used as pasture or grasslands. The park’stypically Mediterranean fauna includes internationally-protected speciessuch as the black stork, the black vulture and the imperial eagle.

Another spot featuring Mediterranean-type scrub is the hilly woodland known as Monte de El Pardo, situated on the outskirts of Madrid. Thanks to strictconservation measures, El Pardo’s superb holm oak forest has become one of the Spanish capital’s main oxygen tents and a sanctuary for endangered species such as the imperial eagle. Mediterranean scrub is alsofound in the upper basin of the River Manzanares.

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Sierra de San Pedro. Badajoz

Reserva Nacional de Cíjara. Badajoz


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Las Bardenas Reales. Navarra

Los Monegros. Zaragoza

No description of Spain’s

landscape would be complete

without a mention of the deserts and

steppes, found in regions where, in

accordance with the dictates of

climate, trees and vegetation disappear

and are replaced by barren expanses

of land. A case in point is the Deserts

of Almería, made up of Desierto de

Tabernas, Sierra Alhamilla and Karst

de Sorbas.


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DESERTS ANDBARREN PLAINS

The relatively rugged terrain of Desierto de Tabernas is apotpourri of ravines, chasms and gullies and the odd hillock. All the plant species, gramineous in the main, are highly xerophylous. As for fauna, the desert is inhabited by birds typicallyassociated with steppes: the stone curlew, the sandgrouse and theroquero solitario (Monticola solitarius).

Sierra Alhamilla is likewise pockmarked with rocks and gorges,in addition to ravines plunging into riverbeds which remain dry formost of the time. All over this somewhat uncanny landscape, caves,potholes and gaping cavities have been formed from its fragile, chalk-bearing matter. Here we have the supreme example of chalkerosion in Spain and one of the best worldwide, for it is the locationof the planet’s third, fourth and fifth deepest chalk caves.

Spain, however, possesses other desert-like regions, such as Los Monegros in Aragón; Las Bardenas Reales in Navarra; andthe barren plains, Páramos de Masa, in Burgos. Their quasi-desert,arid, treeless scenery is striking for its amazing geomorphologicalformations produced by erosion.

Desierto de Tabernas. Almería

Stone curlew in Sierra Alhamilla. Almería


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COASTLINE AND

Islas Cíes. Pontevedra

Mataleñas Beach. Cantabria

Over 4,000 km in length, Spain’s unique,

seemingly infinite shoreline is hemmed,

on the one hand, by magnificent, white-sanded

beaches, like the one stretching without a break

from the Reserve, Coto de Doñana, to the mouth

of the River Guadiana in Huelva; and, on the

other, by crags and cliffs forming inaccessible

bays, such as the ones found on the Costa Brava.


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ISLANDS

Acantilados de Barbate. Cádiz

When speaking of the Spanish coastline, some of the mostexceptional features that come to mind are Vizcaya’s Ría de Mundacaor Guernica, a 12 km-long, former valley submerged by the sea; and,in Cantabria, Ría de Santoña and Ría de San Vicente de la Barquera,the prepossessing Bay of Santander and, of course, the Liencres sanddunes. Further along the coast, the Rías Gallegas await, each with itsown peculiar characteristics, turned to advantage by the seafaringinhabitants. Down in the south, in the province of Cádiz, the eye-catching cliffs, Acantilados de Barbate, make their way along 10 kmof shoreline, with clear drops of over 100 m at certain points. Movingon to the provinces of Málaga and Granada, the imposing cliffs ofMaro-Cerro Gordo, at times shooting up to heights of more than 80 m,provide nesting shelves for a large sea bird population. In Almería, the cape, Cabo de Gata, combines a craggy coastline with salt flats to the west, not far from a heavenly beach and a group of sand dunes.Next, in Murcia, the sea, Mar Menor, split off from the Mediterraneanby a narrow strip of sand; and, in Alicante, the splendid rock, Peñónde Ifach, reaching out into the warm waters of the Mediterraneanrather like a peninsula.

Some of the islands off the peninsula’s coast are of specialimportance. The National Park, Parque Nacional de las IslasAtlánticas, covering both land and sea, includes the archipelagos ofOns y Onza, Sálvora, Cortegada, Malveires and Islas Cíes and is afavourite nesting ground among sea birds. Just 40 km east of Melilla,Islas Chafarinas, of volcanic origin, attract all kinds of birds,especially Andouin gulls, while the surrounding waters are the home of Spain’s only surviving monk seal. Likewise of volcanic origin, Islas Columbretes, 30 miles off the coast of Castellón, are known for the vast array of marine life concealed in the depths of their watersand for their avifauna. Off the Costa Brava, Islas Medes, a smallarchipelago of seven islands of great scenic beauty, look down into aseabed of algae, coral reefs and underwater caves.

Peñón de Ifach. Alicante


Cañón del Río Lobos. Soria

There are still more

fascinating landscapes

to be seen and admired on

the peninsula. In addition to

the lands worked by man,

such as the vast, grain-

producing plains of Castile;

the olive groves of

Andalusia, reaching as far

as the eye can see; the

luxuriant orchards and

market gardens of Murcia;

row after row of fruit trees

in Valencia and Lleida;

the vineyards of La Rioja,

Ribera del Duero and

Jerez…, Spain has an

assorted hoard of beauty

spots, each with its own

highly distinctive character.

OTHER SCENERYTREASURES


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Monasterio de Piedra. ZaragozaArribes del Duero. Salamanca

Waterfalls like La Cimbarra in Jaén or Monasterio de Piedra inZaragoza; gorges like Los Gitanes in Málaga, a sheer-walled creviceseven km long and, in parts, as little as 10 m wide, with drops of up to 400 m; Foz de Arbayún in Navarra, a six km-long canyon in thePyrenean foothills, with precipitous walls broken up by shelves andcaves. Unparalleled sights such as Torcal de Antequera, with rockycrags shaped by wind and water; the 12 km-long canyon, Cañón del

AND NATURAL


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Hoces del Duratón. Segovia

Volcanic area. La Garrotxa. Girona

Olive tree. Toledo

Grapevines. La Rioja

Río Lobos in Soria, the domain of vultures and birds of prey; Hoces del Duratón, in the province of Segovia, a canyon down-cutby a river ready to receive the sheer defiles as they make theirwinding way earthward.

Volcanic scenery like La Garrotxa, in the north of the province of Girona, with no less than 30 cones, the occasional yawning craterand a score of gorges formed from basaltic lava, conforming one ofWestern Europe’s major volcanic areas.

Riverside scenery in Navarra, with forests of poplar, willow and ash; or Los Arribes del Duero in the provinces of Zamora andSalamanca, forming a canyon which stretches over 100 km intoPortugal; or the galachos, secluded meanders in the River Ebro,province of Zaragoza.


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Torcal de Antequera. Málaga

Foz de Arbayún. Navarra


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THEBALEARIC ISLANDSIsla Dragonera. Balearic Islands

Parque Nacional Archipiélago de Cabrera. Balearic Islands


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Anchored in the Mediterranean, the Balearic Islands are very much in

a world of their own, far removed in character from the Iberian

Peninsula, if only for their insularity. The salient feature on the islands’

landscape is Parque Nacional del Archipiélago de Cabrera, Spain’s leading

sea-land National Park.

With 450 recorded plant species, Parque Nacional delArchipiélago de Cabrera is noted above all for its rich store of coralreefs and algae and for its use as a nesting ground by seabirds such asgulls, terns and cormorants, attracted by the smaller islands and thetowering cliffs.

On Majorca, the focal point is Sierra Tramuntana, rising to analtitude of 1,443 m on its way from Cabo Formentor to Andratx. The coastline, just under 50 km of crags and cliffs as high as 300 m in parts, is flecked with tiny bays and coves, constituting what isknown as Majorca’s costa brava, or wild coast. Besides possessing a grand coastal landscape, the sierra boasts the archipelago’s highestpoints, inhabited by seldom-seen creatures like the marten in a settingof holm oak, garrigue and pastures. In a landscape of ridges, ravines

Sierra Tramuntana. Majorca. Balearic Islands

Isla Conejera. Cabrera. Balearic Islands


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Levante Salt Flats. Majorca. Balearic IslandsIslote L’Espoja. Cabrera. Balearic Islands

Salobrar de Campos. Majorca. Balearic Islands


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S’Albufera de Mallorca. Balearic Islands

Acantilados de Alaior. Minorca. Balearic Islands

and other features produced by erosion, the action of man is inevidence in the form of stone terraces and tiny villages with cattlegrazing in the nearby fields.

Towards the southwest, Sierra de Tramuntana continues right intothe sea to reappear as the island, Islote de la Dragonera, an enormouschalky dihedron of interest for its karstic formations and its sizeablepopulation of sea birds.

La Albufera de Mallorca, in the northern area of the bay, Bahía deAlcudia, is the Balearic Islands’ largest salt marsh. Its greatornithological value is reflected in the colonies of purple herons andospreys and in the constant comings and goings of migratory birds.Not far away lie the sand dunes, Dunas de Son Real, while anotherhumid area, known as La Albufereta, is tucked away in Bahía dePollensa.

The entire coastline of Majorca is a multifarious sequence of spotsworth visiting. While the northwest region of Sierra Tramuntana is apastiche of ridges and cliffs, the prominent feature in the southern partof the island is the Marina de Llucmajor, a rocky, chalk plateau ofimmense proportions, diving into the sea down formidable precipices.The area is also noted for its group of dunes, Es Trenc, and its lagoons,Salobrar de Campos. Other features of note around Bahía de Alcudiainclude the peak, Pico de la Victoria, the sand dunes, Sa Cánova, andthe Artá Mountains.


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Punta Xarrade. Ibiza. Balearic Islands


Marina de Llucmajor. Majorca. Balearic Islands


Minorca, especially its coastline, so generously interlaced withdesignated beauty spots, makes for a nature-lover’s paradise. The main marshland, Albufera del Grao, a coastal lagoon cut offfrom the sea by a strip of sand, is used as a wintering ground bythousands of migratory birds. Ciudadela and the wild northernshoreline are exposed to fierce boreal winds. Equally spectacular are the cliffs, Acantilados de Alaior, crowning a huge, rocky,limestone plateau rent by hair-raising ravines.

Ibiza stands out particularly for Las Salinas, an area in the southwhich, despite alterations wrought by the hand of man, is of greatecological interest. The most characterful region, however, is Et’sAmunts, flanked by the cape, Novo de San Antonio to the south, and by the town of San Juan to the north. There are but four ways of reaching the sea from this soaring, precipitous region: La Cala,Xarraca, Beinirrás and Cala Salada. Hidden within the mountains are two lonely, gigantic poljes.


37

Off the northern coast of Formentera, a group of islands, thelargest of which is called El Espalmador, guards an interestingcollection of endemic plants and animals. Some of the most attractive beauty spots on this small Mediterranean island are Estanyx de Peix y de Pudent, along with a variety of saltwater pools, now abandoned. Formentera’s most fertile region, La Mola, a massive, chalky plateau edged in cliffs, is situated in the island’seastern area.

Bahía de Alcudia. Majorca. Balearic Islands

La Albufereta. Majorca. Balearic Islands


38

THE CANARYISLANDS

Los Roques de Garajonay. La Gomera

Mount Teide. Tenerife

Lying opposite the west coast of

Africa, over 1,000 km from the

Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands

possess a number of uncommon

characteristics not generally

associated with other parts of Spain.


39

Parque Nacional Timanfaya. Lanzarote

Taginaste flowers. Parque Nacional del Teide.Tenerife

Isla Clara. Lanzarote

When speaking of the Canary Islands, two predominant featuresshould be taken into account: on the one hand, the landscape and the omnipresent signs of volcanic activity and, on the other, theexceptional vegetation, known as flora macaronésica, after theregion, Macaronesia, made up of the Azores, the Madeira Islands,Cabo Verde and the Canaries themselves. Indeed, the archipelago isfestooned with its own, exclusive species, some of which may beconsidered as living fossils.

The island of Tenerife sits beneath a chain of mountains runningnortheast to southwest, the highest altitudes now forming part of the National Park, Parque Nacional del Teide, with its fascinatingcirque, Las Cañadas, surveyed from above by the awe-inspiringTeide Cone. With an altitude of 3,717 m, the Teide is the ceiling notonly of the entire archipelago but also of the rest of Spain. The park


40

Montaña Chahorra. Parque Nacional del Teide. Tenerife

Garoé. El Hierro

La Graciosa. Lanzarote

Cliffs of Alajeró. La Gomera


41

Dunas de Maspalomas. Gran Canaria

Blue taginaste flowers. Cañadas del Teide. Tenerife

Beauty spot. Riscos de las Playas. El Hierro

rests on a colossal, timeless crater, placed like a huge cauldron at analtitude of 2,100 m. Encircling the park is the Corona Forestal, a sitepacked with evidence of volcanic activity down through the ages,combined with extensive forested areas of Canary Island pine.

On Lanzarote, the National Park, Parque Nacional deTimanfaya, spreading over land which fell victim to intense volcanic activity in the eighteenth century, is a full-scale open-airmuseum of volcanic phenomena, such as perfect cones formed byejecta, lava defiles reaching into the sea and great expanses of lavafields, complete with bubbles, ash and lapilli: an ode to Nature’sunlimited powers. Off the northwest coast of Lanzarote, the arrestingislands known as La Graciosa come into view, with spine-chillingprecipices forged by the sea. In the west-midland part of the island,surprise is in store in the form of La Geria, a landscape of volcanoesand lava fields where an original means of cultivation has evolved,consisting in making holes in the volcanic soil and then shelteringthem with stone walls.

The Corralejo Sand Dunes and Isla de Lobos, to the northeast of Fuerteventura, make for the island’s most impressive piece oflandscape. An area of moving sands gradually draws to a halt to form a jable, a more or less stable stretch of sand. Isla de Lobos is


42

a mass of volcanoes and lava defiles, where a sizeable bird population has chosen to take up residence. The Jandía Peninsula, a haven of endemic plants on the island’s southwestern tip, consists of a great mountainous arc looking due north as it drops abruptly into the sea.

Gran Canaria sits proud of the ineffable scenery enhancing itssouthern tip, the work of the wind as it busily swept organic sand into a broad expanse of sand dunes known as Dunas deMaspalomas. A trip inland reveals the staggering ravines of Monte Doramas, the volcanic fields of Bandama, the pine groves of Inagua and Ojeda and the fossiliferous sands of La Tufía.

Valle del Gran Rey. La Gomera

Inagua. Gran Canaria

Canary Island pine trees. Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente. La Palma


43

Vineyard. La Geria. Lanzarote

Sotavento Beach. Jandía. Fuerteventura

Parque Nacional de Timanfaya. Lanzarote

The central area of La Palma is occupied by the National Park,Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente, a giant’s cauldronsurrounded by peaks towering to altitudes of more than 2,000 m.Dazzling waterfalls gush out of its craggy walls, which are furrowedby gullies and ravines cutting through groves of Canary Island pine.In its interior, a group of amazing rock formations, such as the Idafe,add the finishing touch to this extraordinary landscape. A natural exitfrom Caldera de Taburiente is provided by the ravine, Las Angustias,a deep canyon bearing witness to the island’s volcanic history. In thesouth of La Palma looms a mountain range crowned by a sequence of volcanoes, including the Teneguía, the site of the last eruption tohave taken place on the archipelago, back in 1971.


44

Giant heather. Parque Nacional de Garajonay. La Gomera

Las Cañadas del Teide. Tenerife

Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente from La Cumbrecita. La Palma


45

Caldera de Taburiente. La Palma

Isla de Lobos. Fuerteventura

In the western part of the small Isla de Hierro stands El Golfo, arugged mountainous area where, not so long ago, lava engendered a series of defiles along with a number of cones which reach thehighest altitudes found on the island. Towards the east, tall peaks look down onto the region of Garoé, an array of relatively recentvolcanic formations such as the Caldera de Ventejis, while thesouthwest is ridged with cliffs and crags topping the Las Playasescarpment.

The National Park, Parque Nacional de Garajonay, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, watches over the island of La Gomera from above. Within its bounds grow the islands’ finestspecimens of laurisilva, a humid forest of laurel and similar plants and bushes left over from the Tertiary and now practically non-existent in the rest of the world. This botanical gem is heightened by giant heather and a wide selection of endemic plants sproutingfrom the sheer rock faces found in this designated area. Another of the island’s characteristic landscapes is its immense gullies, such asValle del Gran Rey, where terraces built hundreds of years ago are still exploited by growers. On the jagged shoreline, crested by thecliffs of Alajeró and Carretón, the spectacular coastal rock face of Los Órganos, with its column-like structure, is used as a nestingground by a large variety of seabirds.


CANADA. TorontoTourist Office of Spain2 Bloor Street West Suite 3402TORONTO, Ontario M4W 3E29 1416/ 961 31 31) 1416/ 961 19 92www.spain.info/cae-mail: [email protected]. TokyoTourist Office of SpainDaini Toranomon Denki Bldg.6F3-1-10 Toranomon. Minato-KuTOKIO-105-00019 813/ 34 32 61 42) 813/ 34 32 61 44www.spain.info/jpe-mail: [email protected]. PekínSpanish Embassy – Tourism SectionTayuan Office Building 2-12-2Liangmale Nanlu, 14 100600 BEIJING9 8610/ 65 32 93 06) 8610/ 65 32 93 05e-mail: [email protected] OF IRELAND. DublinSpanish Tourist Office1, 2, 3 Westmoreland StreetDUBLIN 29 353 1 653 0200) 353 1 653 0205e-mail: [email protected]. Moscow Spanish Tourist OfficeTverskaya -16/2, 6º

MOSCOW 1030099 74 95 / 935 83 99) 74 95 / 935 83 96www.spain.info/rue-mail: [email protected]. Singapore SPANISH TOURIST OFFICE541 Orchard Road Liat Tower # 09-04238881 SINGAPORE9 65 / 67 37 30 08 ) 65 / 67 37 31 73www.sapin.infoe-mail: [email protected] KINGDOM. LondonSpanish Tourist Office2nd floor, 79 New Cavendish StreetLONDON W1A 6XB9 44207/ 317 20 10) 44207/ 317 20 48www.spain.info/uke-mail: [email protected] STATES OF AMERICAwww.spain.info/usLos AngelesTourist Office of Spain8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 960BEVERLY HILLS, CAL 902119 1323/ 658 71 95) 1323/ 658 10 61e-mail: [email protected] Office of SpainWater Tower Place, suite 915 East 845, North Michigan AvenueCHICAGO, ILL 60/611

9 1312/ 642 19 92) 1312/ 642 98 17e-mail: [email protected] Tourist Office of Spain1395 Brickell AvenueMIAMI, Florida 331319 1305/ 358 19 92) 1305/ 358 82 23e-mail: [email protected] YorkTourist Office of Spain666 Fifth Avenue 35th floorNEW YORK, N.Y. 101039 1212/ 265 88 22) 1212/ 265 88 64e-mail: [email protected] IN MADRID

Embassies in MadridCanada: Núñez de Balboa, 35 – 3º9 914 233 250 ) 914 233 251Japan: Serrano, 109 9 915 907 600 915 901 321Republic of Ireland: Claudio Coello, 739 915 763 500 ) 914 351 677Russia: Velázquez, 155 9 915 622 264 ) 915 629 712 United Kingdom: Fernando El Santo, 169 913 190 200 ) 913 081 033United States of America: Serrano, 759 915 872 200 ) 915 872 303

International Dialling Code 34

Tourist Information TURESPAÑA

www.spain.infoTOURIST PARADORS

Central Reservation Centre:

Calle Requena, 3. 28013 Madrid9 902 547 979 • ) 902 525 432www.parador.esUSEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Emergencies 9 112Medical Emergencies 9 061Civil Guard 9 062National Police 9 091Municipal Police 9 092Highway Information 9 900 123 505www.dgt.esAENA (Spanish Airports and AirNavigation) • 9 902 404 704www.aena.esNational Railways9 902 240 202 / 902 432 343 International information9 902 243 402 • www.renfe.eswww.adif.esCitizen Information 9 010Post office 9 902 197 197www.correos.es

ANDALUSIA 9 901 200 020 www.andalucia.orgARAGON 9 902 477 000 www.turismodearagon.comASTURIAS 9 902 300 202 www.infoasturias.comBALEARIC ISLANDS 9 971 177 150 www.visitbalears.comBASQUE COUNTRY 9 943 481 166 www.paisvascoturismo.netCANARY ISLANDS 9 928 293 698 www.turismodecanarias.comCANTABRIA 9 901 111 112 www.turismodecantabria.comCASTILE-LA MANCHA 9 925 287 180 www.castillalamancha.esCASTILE & LEÓN 9 902 203 030 www.turismocastillayleon.comCATALONIA 9 934 849 900 www.gencat.netCEUTA 9 856 200 560 www.ceuta.esEXTREMADURA 9 924 008 343 www.turismoextremadura.comGALICIA 9 902 200 432 www.turgalicia.esLA RIOJA 9 941 291 260 www.lariojaturismo.comMADRID 9 902 100 007 www.turismomadrid.esMELILLA 9 952 680 480 www.melillaturismo.comMURCIA 9 902 101 070 www.murciaturistica.esNAVARRE 9 848 420 420 www.turismo.navarra.esVALENCIAN REGION 9 902 123 212 www.comunitatvalenciana.com

Spanish Tourist Information Offices Abroad

Useful InformationTourist Information on Autonomous Communities


Text:Luis Blas Aritio

Translation:Hilary Dyke

Photographs:Incafo Archivo Fotográfico

Graphic Design:Alberto Caffaratto Ladoire

Published by:© Turespaña

Secretaría de Estadode Turismo

Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio

Printed by:Impresos y Revistas, S. A. (Grupo IMPRESA)

D.L.: M. 32.037-2009NIPO: 704-09-424-9

Printed in Spain

3th edition

National Park ------------------------------------Nature Park --------------------------Place of special interest --------------Capitals --------------------------------------------Highest peaks ------------------------------------------


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