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Articles and Links Pages
Outdoor
Links Directory
La Albufera / L'Albufera
The nature reserve of La Albufera, not to be confused with
S'Albufera on Majorca, lies south of the city of Valencia
and is the second largest in Spain. It consists of the lagoon
of La Albufera itself, the wetlands around it and the adjacent
shoreline, the devesa.
Las Alpujarras
Las Alpujarras, a spectacularly beautiful region dominated
by the Sierra Nevada and straddling the provinces of Granada
and Almería, so protected by mountains that the Moors who
had given it its name managed to hold out here for over a
century after the fall of Granada in 1492. Now a natural park
and one of the great discoveries visitors can make in Spain.
Cabo de Gata-Nijar Nature Reserve
If you are looking for an unspoilt, uncrowded beach, the nature
reserve of Cabo de Gata is one of your best bets in Spain,
except at weekends in the height of the season. Incidentally,
it is also popular with film-makers - see if you can find
the beach where Sean Connery downs a German plane using an
umbrella in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Cabrera
National Park
The small island of Cabrera, the other eighteen islands and
islets in the archipelago of the same name and the sea around
it are a combined marine-terrestrial national park, to which
access is extremely restricted. Here is an SPV article about
the park, its flora and fauna and how to visit it.
The Canary Islands
- the Outdoors
The Canary Islands is far more than beaches. For example,
there are no fewer than four national parks - Timanfaya on
Lanzarote, Garajonay on La Gomera, La Caldera de Taburiente
on La Palma and El Teide on Tenerife.
Coto de
Doñana
The Coto de Doñana, estate of Doña Ana, so called after the
wife of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, is the largest national
park in Spain and one of the oldest, as well as being one
of the most important wetlands in Europe. Doñana Natural
Park, which surrounds it, is also of great natural interest,
but this article specifically deals with Doñana National
Park, its importance and vulnerability, how to visit it, and
what to expect to see.
Doñana
A links page for both Doñana National Park and Doñana
Natural Park.
Ordesa y Monte Perdido
The Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido, in the
Aragonese Pyrenees, is the oldest nature reserve in Spain,
founded in 1918. It is spectacularly beautiful and offers
visitors a number of possibilities, including relatively gentle
hikes, full-blown mountain treks and adventure sports like
rafting.
Peneda-Gerês
National Park
Peneda-Gerês was the first protected area in Portugal, founded
in 1971, and is still the only national park in the country.
Although the bears have disappeared, it is still home to wolves
and eagles.
Elsewhere on the Net
Alvão
Natural Park
A beautiful nature reserve near Vila Real, on the Serra
of the same name. It is beautiful but, be warned, can be cold,
windy and rainy. A Portuguese-only site.
Arrábida,
Parque Natural da
The Arrábida National Park, parque natural, is to be
found south of Lisbon, west of Setúbal.
Ebro
Delta Natural Park
This is an excellent webpage from something called Spain Birding,
which seems to be trying to sell birdwatching tours in Catalonia.
It is undoubtedly attractive and I wish them luck.
Hiking
in Mallorca
An Englishman's account of four different hikes in the north
of Mallorca, with a few good photos.
Gardens
of Andalusia
The Moorish influence on Andalusia has left it some of the
most attractive gardens in Spain.
Juan
Manuel Borrero
Truly breathtaking photographs, mostly of Spain, especially
Catalonia, from this deservedly successful nature photographer.
Iberia;
Natural History and Environment
Once content with running the fine but modest
Iberia
Nature weblog, Nick Lloyd's ambition has swelled to this
splendid natural history web site, the features of which include
an A-Z Guide to Spanish Nature and Landscape, different types
of dictionaries and glossaries, and highly informative and
entertaining articles covering all kinds of Iberian flora
and fauna. If he ever gets round to registering a proper domain,
the world will be his ostra.
Iberian
Wildlife Guides
British naturalists Teresa Farino, John Muddeman and Mike
Lockwood are Spanish residents who have teamed up to offer
a variety of natural history tours in Spain and Portugal.
The Pyrenees, Picos de Europa, Almeria, Estremadura, and the
west of Portugal are just some of the wildlife holiday destinations
they cover, showcasing Spain's fabulous variety of bird species,
as well as mammals like the Spanish Ibex, the peninsula's
tremendous variety of entomological species, particularly
butterflies and moths, and its flora.
Montesinho
National Park
Montesinho National Park, to the north of Bragança, is an
unspoilt, sparsely inhabited area, with wild boar, eagles,
and even wolves. This is the relevant but Portuguese only
part of the website of the Portuguese Institute of Nature
Conservation.
National
Parks in Spain
No more than a list.
Nuria
Valley
The Nuria Valley in the Pyrenees offers walking, skiing, horse
riding, adventure sports... At last an English version of
this site.
Picos
de Europa
The picos for climbers, principally. Spanish only.
(Liebana
and) Picos de Europa
Liebana is the westernmost part of Cantabria, and abuts the
Picos de Europa to their south.
Rías
Baixas
The Rías Baixas (southern estuaries or fiords) is a very attractive
part of Galicia: prices are low, people hospitable and food
and drink is good and abundant. The regional tourist board's
new web presence is fine: clear, simple, and comprehensive,
based around an interactive map.
Simon
Coombes' European Butterfly Guide
I have read that Spain has more species of butterfly than
the rest of Western Europe put together. This is the web site
of a book of the same name and has some magnificent photographs,
even to someone not especially absorbed by the subject. The
parts of Spain and Portugal covered are Andalusia and the
Algarve, the Pyrenees and Tenerife.
Spanish
Fauna
Some fabulous pictures by Spanish wild-life photographers.
The
Spanish Lynx
An excellent article about this severely endangered species.
Wild-Spain
Best of the Net
A great site with articles about and fabulous pictures (not
just photos) of outdoor Spain and its flora and fauna. After
Spain and Portugal for Visitors, this should
be your first stop if you are interested in the Iberian peninsula
and its wildlife.
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