Natural Parks

Andalusia has more than 80 Natural Areas, Parks and Reserves, all of which can be visited, and which make up 18% of its territory. It is the pioneering Spanish community in the defense of environmental heritage.

Most of this space is occupied by Natural Parks, to which must be added the emblematic Sierra Nevada National Park and the Doñana National Park, declared a "Biosphere Reserve" by UNESCO. Andalusia's 22 Natural Parks correspond to mountainous and coastal areas, such as "Cabo de Gata" in Almeria.

These parks are of great diversity, from the woods of a kind of fir tree unique in the world in Grazalema and in the Sierra de las Nieves (near Ronda) to the fabulous karst rock formations of the Sierra du Torcal in Antequera, in passing through the steep region of the Alpujarras. In this mountainous region of the Sierra Nevada, do not miss to visit the white villages with their unique architecture!

Nature lovers, you can only be delighted by the magnificent natural parks of Andalusia.

The Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park

The Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park is one of Andalusia's ecological sanctuaries. Endowed with a great wealth, it preserves within it as its most precious treasure the Spanish fir, a protected species in danger of extinction which, in this park, occupies only a little more than 3000 hectares.

Located in the heart of the natural mountainous region of Serranía de Ronda, the Sierra de las Nieves (snow mountain) is surrounded by natural spaces as remarkable as the Los Alcornoques and Sierra de Grazalema natural parks, to the west, the site natural Reales de Sierra Bermeja, to the south, and the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes gorge, to the east.

Classified as a natural space in 1989 and a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1995, this park covers 20,163 hectares divided between the villages of El Burgo, Istán, Monda, Parauta, Ronda, Tolox and Yunquera. This mountainous territory is cut by deep breaches and spectacular ravines like that of La Caína, having more than 100 meters of fall.

It has the highest peak in the province of Malaga, El Torrecilla, which is 1,919 meters above sea level. Due to the limestone nature of the soil, chasms such as the Gesm have formed there, the third deepest on the planet (1,100 meters) and the deepest in all of Andalusia.

Sierra Bermeja

The Reales de Sierra Bermaja natural site, with a total area of 1,236 hectares protected, lies at the confluence of the municipal territories of Estepona, Genalguacil and Casares, although most of its Spanish fir forest belongs to Genalguacil. It is part of the Sierra Bermeja massif, in the heart of the

El Genal valley, and separates the Serranía de Ronda from the Mediterranean coasts for a distance of 35 kilometers. The mountain range has an average altitude of 1000 meters and lies between the Sierra de las Nieves and the Pico de Los Reales.

Los Alcornocales

Los Alcornocales Natural Park covers 170,000 ha of land, straddling the provinces of Cadiz and Malaga. It includes the world's largest cork oak forest mass.

The park forms a set of small mountain ranges where sandy soils predominate,

unlike the Sierra de Grazalema, where limestone soils are predominant. The park, which extends to the Strait of Gibraltar, is one of the most important protected areas in Andalusia and the third in terms of size. Inside the park is the Cortes de la Frontera National Hunting Reserve. Rhododendrons, ferns and laurels grow there under the shade of the trees. In the southern part of the park are the canutos, river valleys in which plant species from the Tertiary era survive.

The Sierra de Grazalema

Located between the Andalusian provinces of Cadiz and Málaga, is home to a large population of Andalusian firs, which have today become

the true symbol of these mountain ranges. It is one of the most spectacular karst complexes in Spain, with deep defiles, gorges and the largest network of rivers, caves and underground galleries in Andalusia. The entire Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977.

Grazalema takes the form of a mountain range located between the provinces of Cadiz and Málaga. Its relief, which is between 600 and 1600 meters, dominates the surrounding valleys and depressions. The orography is very rugged, with narrow valleys like the "Garganta Verde", a gorge whose walls reach a drop of 400 meters. An important peculiarity of Grazalema is that it is one of the rainiest spots in the Iberian Peninsula, with rainfall of more than 2 meters per year. Another unique feature of this sierra is the presence of caves and underground systems, including the Hundidero-Gato complex, which is considered the largest cave in Andalusia, or the “Cueva de la Pileta”, renowned for its remains. prehistoric. Some 10 species of amphibians, 14 of reptiles, 136 of birds and 42 of mammals have been recorded there. The bat colony that occupies the Hundidero-Gato complex is one of the largest in Europe. Regarding the vegetation, it is necessary to differentiate the lower zones, mainly represented by the holm oak, the cork oak, the carob tree, the hawthorn, the strawberry tree and the mastic tree, from the highest strata, dominated by by the oaks of Portugal and the firs of Andalusia.