Natural Parks in Andalucia

Natural Parks in Andalucía highlight the region’s striking mix of mountains, wetlands, coasts, and forests. The Sierra Nevada Natural Park, home to Spain’s highest peak, offers alpine landscapes and unique flora. The Doñana Natural Park protects one of Europe’s most important wetlands, vital for migratory birds. Along the Mediterranean coast, Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park showcases volcanic cliffs, hidden coves, and unspoiled beaches. Inland, the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park features dramatic limestone gorges and dense forests. Together, these protected areas conserve biodiversity while offering opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, and exploring Andalucía’s natural and cultural heritage.

Sierra Subbética

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Set in the middle of Andalucia this is a limestone semi-mountainous area with a rolling hills and a high point of 1.570 m named la Tiñosa
  • Region: Andalucia
  • Province: Córdoba
  • Declared a Natural Park: 1988
  • Park surface area: 32,056 hectares
  • Towns and villages: Cabra, Carcabuey, Doña Mencía, Iznájar, Luque, Priego, Rute and Zuheros

Points of interest

Set in the middle of Andalucia, the Sierra Subbética is a limestone semi-mountainous area with rolling hills and a high point of 1.570 metres named la Tiñosa. The main economy for the area comes from olive oil, therefore much of the area has intensive olive grove plantations.

The villages and towns in the Sierra Subbética are a delight to explore.

If you have an interest in fossils then this area should be on your bucket list for Andalucia as it is also a UNESCO global geopark and also part of the “Fossil route”

This short documentary in Spanish highlights the scenery, culture and history of the Sierra Subbética.

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Sierra de Baza

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The depression known as la Hoya de Baza and the Sierra de Las Estancias
  • Region: Andalucia
  • Province: Granada
  • Declared a Natural Park: 1989
  • Park surface area: 53,649 hectares

Villages in the area

Baza, Caniles, Dólar, Gor, Valle de Zalabí

Points of interest

The sierra de Baza with its limestone peaks over 2000m is a relatively humid, botanical jewel between two arid plains of Las Hoyas de Guadix-Baza and the Llanos del Marquesado. It is part of the Cordillera Penibética range with the highest peak of Santa Bárbara at 2,271m. The steep slopes have a covering of pines with oaks and acer.

Thia natural park is home to nearly a hundred and fifty endemic species exclusive to the Iberian Peninsula: Iberian endemics 81, Southern Iberian endemics 51, Granada endemics 17.

This video shows some of the scenery and other interesting aspects of the area around the sierra de Baza. It was created for the FITUR tourism show in 2021 by the council of Baza

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Los Alcornocales

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Los Alcornocales is a forest of Cork oak trees, the largest in Iberia
  • Region: Andalucia
  • Province: Cadiz/Malaga
  • Declared a Natural Park: 1989
  • Park surface area: 167.767 hectares
  • Villages and Towns in the area: Alcalá de Los Gazules, Algar, Algeciras, Arcos de La Frontera, Los Barrios, Benalup-casas Viejas, Benaocaz, El Bosque, Castellar de La Frontera, Cortes de La Frontera, Jerez de La Frontera, Jimena de La Frontera, Medina-sidonia, Prado del Rey, San Jose del Valle, San Roque, Tarifa, Ubrique

Points of interest

Los Alcornocales is a forest of Cork oak trees, the largest in Iberia and therefore important to the worlds cork supply. The park, which also embraces mountains, creates a green corridor from the Sierra de Grazalema natural park through to the coastal zone at Tarifa.

The harvesting of cork is done on a 9 to 12 year cycle. The bark is stripped from the tree by hand, packed onto mules and taken to forest tracks where it can be loaded onto a vehicle. The cork collection is only carried out for 3 months in the heat of summer when it separates easily from the tree.

Therefore, the fauna and flora are left undisturbed between these harvest times, giving an important refuge to many plants and animals.

Recent research has discovered a wealth of animal and plant forms that exist here because of the humidity. The heavy tree canopy and many deep water channels (canutos) combine to create a subtropical micro climate in a normally very dry part of Spain.

Find a a hotel in Los Alcornocales

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Sierra de Grazalema

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The Natural Park of the Sierra de Grazalema - Walking and Wildlife Holidays in Spain
  • Region: Andalucia
  • Provinces: Cadiz, Malaga
  • Declared a Natural Park: 1984
  • Park surface area: 51,695 hectares

Points of interest

The Natural Park of the Sierra de Grazalema has also been declared a Biosphere Reserve, this is due to the diverse geography with high limestone mountains and deep gorges such as Garganta Verde, (Green Gorge) that is 400m deep and filled with lush vegetation. In addition, it offers a great diversity of species- animals and vegetation.

Many species are represented in the Botanical Garden of El Bosque, which is a good place to see the more rare flora of the area.

Numerous species of birds live in the park, the Griffon vulture being the most recognizable by its sheer size and tendency to fly in numbers.

The area has also become famous as a starlight destination. The Starlight Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2009 to promote the protection of the night sky and the development of “astrotourism” and there is an ever growing list of starlight destinations in Spain to visit.

For more in depth information about this area please have a look at the Grazalema Guide. This is our Tourist Information Portal for the Sierra de Grazalema, The town of Ronda and the Caminito del Rey. You can find out everything you need for a visit to this area of Andalucia (Where we live) 🙂

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