Natural Parks in Castilla la Mancha

Barranco del Rio Dulce Natural Park

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  • Region: Castilla la Mancha
  • Province: Guadalajara
  • Declared a Natural Park: 2003
  • Park surface area: 8,348 hectares
  • Local towns and villages: Sigüenza, Mandayona, Saúca, Torremocha del Campo, Algora and Mirabueno

Points of interest

The Barranco del Rio Dulce Natural Park is Special Area of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Area (SPA), a Site of Community Importance (SCI) and is also included in the Natura 2000 network.

The impressive ravine is the result of the erosion on Mesozoic limestone, dolomites and paleogene outcrops. During the Cretaceous period the area was frequently covered by seas which deposited the current limestone. More recently, in the Quaternary, the river has been dissolving the limestone and eroding the current canyon.

This spectacular landscape was popularized by the famous naturalist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente as it provided the ideal setting for a number of his television wildlife documentaries. (Especially those dedicated to eagles)

The viewing area over the gorge is dedicated to him. (Félix Samuel Rodríguez de la Fuente (March 14, 1928 – March 14, 1980) was a Spanish naturalist and broadcaster. He is best known for the highly successful and influential TV series, El Hombre y la Tierra (1974–1980)

Video showing the Barranco del Rio Dulce Natural Park from the air

The cliff walls provide the perfect habitat for swift (Apus melba), Eurasian crag martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris), redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), rock sparrow (Petronia petronia), blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius) and raven (Corvus corax).

These rocky areas are also inhabited by griffon vulture, red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) and Egyptian vulture as well as the increasingly rare Bonelli’s eagle (Hieraaetus fasciatus), eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus).

The riparian (river) ecosystem is an important habitat for the otter which feeds mainly on the large and healthy population of common trout (Salmo trutta)

There is also an isolated population of the endangered Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) The river is an ideal habitat for birds such as the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) and kingfisher. The Mediterranean water shrew (Neomys anomalus) is also present

In the woodland and moorlands there are roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), wild boar (Sus scrofa ).

These wooded and open areas are hunting grounds for raptors such as booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), short-toed eagle (Circaetus gallicus) and goshawk (Accipiter gentilis).

Find a hotel close to the Barranco del Rio Dulce Natural Park

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Information/Visitors Centers

Centro de interpretación Parque Natural Barranco del Río Dulce

Located in the village of Mandayona the exhibition dedicated to the natural resources of the park is influenced greatly by the work of the famous Spanish naturalist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente.

There are live cams showing vulture nests and excellent information on the fauna and flora of the area. This is also the place to get your infomation for walking in the area.

Web: http://en.www.turismocastillalamancha.es/naturaleza/parque-natural-barranco-del-rio-dulce-53272/descripcion/

The Grazalema Guide

The best way to see all our web projects in one place is over at the Grazalema Guide.

The Grazalema Guide – Tourist Information Portal for the Sierra de Grazalema, Wildside Holidays, the town of Ronda and the Caminito del Rey.

https://grazalemaguide.com/

Spain Wildlife News and Updates

Happy migration time for Buoux the Egyptian vulture

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The Egyptian Vulture Buoux hatched in 2018 and has spent a lot of its life in captivity after being rescued and released twice.

Finally he’s crossed the sea and reached Africa after spending the summer in Spain and Portugal.

Map of the Egyptian vultures migration route
Map of the Egyptian vultures migration route through Spain

Interestingly, Buoux is present in areas that the Egyptian Vultures from the Douro (Portugal and Spain) tagged within the LIFE Rupis project are hanging out. The VCF (vulture Conservation Foundation) track the movements of Egyptian Vultures tagged in the Douro Canyon that borders Portugal and Spain, and it seems that Buoux uses similar areas, particularly the Boucle du Baoulé National Park in Mali.

Read the full story here.

https://www.4vultures.org/french-egyptian-vulture-buoux-african-wintering-grounds/

More maps and Egyptian vulture movements and news on the website of VCF

https://www.4vultures.org/our-work/monitoring/egyptian-vulture-online-maps/

Spain Wildlife News and Updates

Sierra de las Nieves National Park (Almost)

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Just a few more meetings and the the future National Park of the Sierra de las Nieves will be the sixteenth in Spain (the third in Anadalusia). This will allow the areas inclusion in the Spanish Network of National Parks.

The Sierra de las Nieves is home to 65 percent of the Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo) forest and is a haven of diversity of habitats and varied fauna. The park also includes an important representation of holm oaks, cork oaks, gall oaks, black pine forests, junipers and riverside forests.

The towns and villages in the affected in the area proposed as the Sierra de las Nieves National Park are Benahavis, El Burgo, Istán, Monda, Parauta, Ronda, Tolox and Yunquera. (Alozaina, Casarabonela, Guaro, Igualeja, Ojén and Serrato outside of the park limits but benefitting from the parks infrastructure etc. (Rural tourism)

The area includes many large rock formations dating back hundreds of millions of years and which have outlined a scene of different types of plutonic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks; peridotites, gneisses, limestones, dolomites, marbles, serpentinites and alluvial quaternary deposits that act as fillings for the valley bottoms. (Peridotites, very unique worldwide, are one of the rarest rocks in the earth’s crust, because their outcrops show a portion of the lithospheric mantle, which is generally not visible.

The area is already protected under narural park status, biosphere reserve and red 2000

Read more about the Sierra de las Nieves.

The below map shows the proposed Sierra de las Nieves National Park limits and the economic benefits for the surrounding towns and villages.

Sierra de las Nieves National Park
Sierra de las Nieves National Park limits showing also peripheral protection area (Green) and the area affected econimically (Rural tourism)

The Grazalema Guide

The best way to see all our web projects in one place is over at the Grazalema Guide.

The Grazalema Guide – Tourist Information Portal for the Sierra de Grazalema, Wildside Holidays, the town of Ronda and the Caminito del Rey.

https://grazalemaguide.com/

Reptiles and Amphibians of Spain

Lataste’s Viper – Vipera latastei – Vibora hocicuda

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  • English: Lataste’s Viper
  • Scientific: Vipera latastei
  • Spanish: Vibora hocicuda
  • French: Vipère de Lataste
  • German: Stülpnasenotter
  • Italian: Vipera di Lataste
  • Portuguese: cobra-cornuda
  • Distribution: Iberian Peninsula (except extreme north), North Africa

VENOMOUS (If bitten seek immediate medical attention)

Characterized by its dorsal markings the Lataste’s Viper – Vipera latastei – Vibora hocicudaa has a clear edged dark band in a zigzag pattern on a grey or brown background. Body short and thick of variable length but normally less than 60 cm. The head is well defined, triangular in shape and grey with a very distinct and unmistakeable upturned snout.

It is a diurnal species, but in the warmer months, is of crepuscular or nocturnal habits.

vipera latastei – vibora hocicuda 1
Lataste’s Viper – Vipera latastei – Vibora hocicuda sometimes a pale brown colour.

Prefers stony or rocky areas with plenty of scrub, woodland, steep slopes and stone walls with some vegetation. Slow moving, though tends to flee if approached.

The adult diet consists of rodents, lacertids, chicks of small birds and invertebrates.

Lataste's Viper - Vipera latastei - Vibora hocicuda
Lataste’s Viper – Vipera latastei – Vibora hocicuda unmistakeable upturned nose.

Mating takes place in April or May and the Lataste viper is an ovoviviparous species meaninh that the female keeps the eggs in her body (for approximately three months) until the young are born (sometimes more than 10)

If it feels threatened this snake will bite and although seldom fatal, adequate health care is normally required as soon as possible.

Conservation Status

The species V. latastei is classified as Near Threatened (VU) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed as such because it is probably in significant decline due to widespread habitat loss and persecution throughout much of its range. Further population reduction is expected and localized extinctions in parts of its range are possible.

It is also listed as a strictly protected species (Appendix II) under the Berne Convention

Similar species

The subspecies Vipera latastei gaditana inhabits the extreme southwest of the Iberian Peninsula and the north of Africa. In the Iberian Peninsula its distribution ranges from the south of Portugal (the northern limits are not clearly defined) to the western banks of the Guadalquivir River in the province of Huelva, where it is found throughout the entire province up to the Sierra Morena in the north. It extends through the province of Seville along the wedge formed between Sierra Morena and the Guadalquivir River.

In this area, Vipera latastei are also present so telling the difference can be quite tricky.

Further reading on the fantastic and informative website of Iberian Vipers. It contains ample information about the three viper species(Lataste´s viper, Asp viper and Seoane´s viper),
and the three subspecies: Vipera latastei gaditana, Vipera aspis zinnikeri and Vipera seoanei cantabrica which inhabit the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).

Web: http://www.viborasdelapeninsulaiberica.com/description-vipera-latastei-gaditana-1.html

Vipera latastei abulensis – a subspecies of viper from the Central mountain range (Sierra de Gredos) in depth article with comparative data for the nominate race Vipera latastei latastei and the southern race Vipera latastei gaditana.

Web: http://www.viborasdelapeninsulaiberica.com/viper-articles2.html

The Grazalema Guide

The best way to see all our web projects in one place is over at the Grazalema Guide.

The Grazalema Guide – Tourist Information Portal for the Sierra de Grazalema, Wildside Holidays, the town of Ronda and the Caminito del Rey.

https://grazalemaguide.com/

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