That Spain is a country with a lot of beautiful nature, beaches and buildings is not up for discussion. In every city and village you will find beautiful places where you can enjoy the nice weather of the country, where you can picnic and relax. In addition, the country also has such a beautiful nature that it may be called a natural wonder, in this article about the natural wonders of Spain you read everything you want and need to know.
Natural wonders of Spain; the most admirable
Spain has so much beautiful nature that you can impossibly make a top 5. Yet, we make a top 7 in this article because otherwise it would become an endless article with all the beauty of nature that can be found in Spain. Read and enjoy the natural wonders of Spain.
1. Fuente Dé (Cantabrië)
Fuente Dé is a nature reserve in the Picos de Europa Mountains on the Cantabrian State. The viewpoint Fuente Dé can be reached on foot but also with a cable car where you at 800 meters altitude will enjoy great views and a glacier.
2. La Playa de los Catedrales (Galicia)
The beach A Paraia Das Catedrais is located in the province of Lugo in Ribadeo. The region of Galicia, like Asturias and Cantabria, is known for its most beautiful beaches. This beach is so special because of the curved rock formations where you can walk under when the sea is at its lowest point. The beach is visited annually by thousands of people.
3. Las Médulas (Castilla y León)
Las médulas are located in the province of León and are old Roman gold mining mines. Now they are completely covered with chestnut and oak forests, making this nature reserve a veritable spectacle of the most beautiful colors in the spring and autumn months. In Roman times, the Médulas were the largest gold mines of the entire Roman Empire, but now it’s an area declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Site.
4. Natuurpark Las Lagunas de Ruidera (Castilla La Mancha)
Speaking of natural wonders of Spain, this one can’t be missed. The Parque Natural de Las Laguna de Ruidera is a beautiful nature reserve full of forests and fifteen lagoons/ lakes along the old rivers Pinilla and Guadiana Viejo. You can also find the caves of Montesinos in this natural park.
5. Gaztelugatxe (Basque country)
Gaztelugatxe is a small island (looks like a rock) located off the coast of Bermeo in the Basque Country. On this small island is a chapel located, this chapel was built in the tenth century in honor of San Juan. The bridge to the small chapel is an experience on itself and the panoramic views from this island are also definitely worth the effort.
6. Parque Natural de Timanfaya
Also called Montañas del Fuego which literally means fire mountains, is a nature reserve on Lanzarote, the area consists of a unique volcanic, “moon” landscape. This landscape was caused by a volcanic eruption in 1730. Today there is still volcanic activity. Because of the precipitated lava, a wine with a special taste can be made in the surroundings of the Timanfaya National Park. The area covers around 51 square kilometers.
As a visitor you can visit a part of the area in a bus or on the back of a dromedary. A walk of 3 km on the Termesana route with guide takes two hours. This walk must be requested two months in advance and reconfirmed 48 hours in advance. This is to prevent too many people from entering this vulnerable area. There is a visitor center on top of a volcano. Here is the restaurant El Diablo located, where is being cooked with volcanic heat. This center can be reached by car after you have paid entrance fees. This includes a tourist bus ride of about 40 minutes through the volcanic landscape.
7. Selva de Irati
The Irati Forest is the second largest and best-kept beech and spruce forest in Europe. The largest is the Black Forest in Germany. This immense vast green zone of around 17,000 hectares is virtually untouched. The forest is located in the eastern Pyrenees of Navarre, in a catchment area surrounded by mountains, at the foot of the Pyrenean valleys Aezkoa and Salazar.
The Irati Forest is a nature reserve with a high ecological value where several nature reserves such as Mendilatz and Tristuibartea and the integral nature reserve Lizardoia are next to each other. Dense beech forests, pastures, fir trees and water make the landscape vibrant with colors that change with every season. The Forest of Irati is accessible in two places, on the western side from Orbaizeta and on the east side from Ochagavía. Here is also the Interpretation Center located, which is also a good starting point for information about the forest and its surroundings. More information about The Irati Forest can be found here.
There are plenty of natural wonders of Spain, and these are not even all of them yet. There are too many to mention in this article. As a true nature lover, you will certainly have enough to discover in Spain, so put on your hiking shoes and explore!
Besides these natural wonders, Spain also has some pretty special places to spend the night. Do you want to know more about this? Read our blog about an unique overnight stay in Spain.