National Parks

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Andalucia is Spain's single largest region, 87,268 km², covering 17.3% of Spanish territory and consists of eight provinces; Almeria Cadiz Cordoba Granada Huelva Jaen Malaga and Sevilla. To put this in perspective the total area of the provinces is greater than countries such as Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland and Austria.

More than 18% of this region is classified as protected land and consists of a vast network of parks and reserves covering mountainous regions to coastal areas. These areas are classified as:

Natural parks Locations of great ecological, scientific and educational value. They have ecosystems that have been little altered by man. Together they demonstrate an enormous range of geology and climate, from salt flats and dunes to mountain ranges and woods.

Natural areas These are moderately protected areas due to the risk to, or the uniqueness of, the fauna, flora or landscape.

Natural Reserves These are small enclaves to protect an ecosystem or natural fragile element. Natural reserves offer the greatest level of protection and to enter a Natural reserve special permission is required from the warden of that reserve.

The authorities have managed to balance the protection these areas whilst still making them available for public use and enjoyment. Within these various protected areas are many facilities for the tourist, such as marked footpaths, recreation areas, camping sites, mountain bike tracks, visitor centres, viewpoints, observatories, information points, areas for free camping, and long golden beaches, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

The largest of the 22 Parks, the Doñana National Park, is also Spains largest and one of the most important in Europe. With 50,720 hectares of land located within several provinces the park consists of several unique ecosystems benefiting from the mild climate and is home to many important plant species and a wealth of wildlife.

Originally a royal hunting ground the area has always been of major importance to Spain. In 1964 the first 6794 hectares of land was purchased in order to protect it and in1969 the Doñana National Park was declared. Later, in 1978, it was given its own legal regime and in 1994 the park was declared a National Heritage site.

Many rare birds migrate here and the various bird watching stations combine with excellent visitor information centres and planned walking or cycling routes. Worth a look is the unique town of El Rocio with its rows of churches. There is also a large lake here that is home to flamingos and other birds, relax and enjoy the tranquillity of this area.

For information on protected natural environments in the Provinces of Andalucia click on the links below.

Natural Areas	Natural Parks	Natural Reserves
Almeria
Desierto de Tabernas	Cabo de Gata-Níjar	Albufera de Adra
Punta Entinas-Sabinar	Sierra de María-Los Vélez	Punta Entinas-Sabinar
Sierra de Alamilla
Yesos de Sorbas
Cadiz
Embalse de Arcos	Acantilado y Pinar de Barbate	Complejo Endorreico de Chiclana
Embalse de Bornos	Bahia de Cadiz	Complejo Endorreico de Espera
Estuario de Guadiaro	Los Alcornocales	Complejo Endorreico de Puerto Real
Isla del Trocadero	Sierra de Grazalema	Complejo Endorreico de Puerto Santa Maria
Marismas del Palmones		Laguna de Medina
Marismas de Sancti Petri		Las Canteras y el Tejon
Playa de los Lances
Cordoba
Embalse de Cordobilla	Sierra de Cardeña y Montoro	Laguna Amarga
Embalse de Malpasillo	Sierra de Hornachuelos	Laguna de los Jarales
	Sierra Subbetica	Laguna de Tiscar
		Laguna de Zoñar
		Laguna del Rincon
Granada
	Sierra Nevada
	Sierra de Baza
	Sierra de Castril
	Sierra de Huétor

Huelva
Enebrales de Punta Umbria	Doñana national park	Laguna de el Portil
Estero de Domingo Rubio	Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche	Isla de Emmediol
Laguna de Palos y las Madres		Marismas del Burro
Marismas de Isla Cristina
Marismas del Odiel
Marismas del Rio Piedras y Flecha del Rompido
Peñas de Aroche
Sierra Pelada y Rivera del Aserrador
Jaen
Alto Guadalquivir	Despeñaperros	Laguna Honda
Cascada de Cimbarra	Sierra de Andujar	Laguna del Chinche
Laguna Grande	Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas
	Sierra Magina

Malaga
Desembocadura del Guadalhorce	Montes de Malaga	Laguna de Fuente de Piedra
Desfiladero de los Gaitanes	Sierras de Tejeda, Alhama y Almijara	Laguna de la Ratosa
Los Reales de Sierra Bermeja	Sierra de las Nieves	Lagunas de Archidonia
Sierra Crestellina		Laguna de Campillos
El Torcal Park
Acantillado de Maro y Cerro Gordo
Sevilla
Brazo del Este	Sierra Norte	Cañada de los Pájaros
		Complejo Endorreico de la Lantejuela
		Complejo Endorreico de Lebrija-Las Cabeza
		Complejo Endorreico de Utrera
		Laguna del Gosque

Other Places of Interest
El Chorro Malaga's lake district	El Torcal Naturally carved rocks	Antequera Unique lunar landscape
Sierras de Tejeda, Alhama y Almijara

Protected Natural Environments in Andalucia