El Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar

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The first time we stumbled upon Cabo de Gata Natural Park online, all we saw were limited pictures; we hadn't heard anything about the place or knew anyone who had heard of it, let alone gone there. We're here to tell you, if you live in Spain or plan on visiting and haven't gone to this park...GO!!!! This place is great! The park is located in Andalucia in the province of Almeria, about a 4 hour drive from where we were. Here's some info pulled from www.andalucia.com : "Covering 45,663ha in the southeastern corner of Spain, Cabo de Gata-Níjar is Andalucia's largest coastal protected area, a wild and isolated landscape with some of Europe's most original geological features. The eponymous mountain range is Spain's largest volcanic rock formation with sharp peaks and crags in ochre-hues. It falls steeply to the sea creating jagged 100m-high cliffs, which are riven by gullies leading to hidden coves with white sandy beaches, some of the most beautiful in Andalucia. Offshore are numerous tiny rocky islands and, underwater, extensive coral reefs teeming with marine life."

The coastline is dotted with small villages, all dressed in white, gleaming & glistening from the light bouncing off the waters. For the bird lovers, there's a saltwater lagoon that plays an important role for breeding and migrating birds. We didn't visit there. But we did visit a lot between Los Escullos (where we happened to camp) and Las Negras. We even ventured inland to Nijar, a city that is famous for its pottery and other crafts.

Though we were mere miles away from a large city, when we laid near the beach at night and gazed at the twinkling stars, it seemed as though we were lightyears away from any major place. If we make it back to Spain again, this will definitely be on our list of places to go. Again😊

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Photos

cliff
beautiful scenery near Las Negras

old fishing boats
on the beach near Los Escullos

view along the road
looking towards La Isleta and Los Escullos

us and the Mediterranean
near Las Negras

the smiling house
perhaps it was happy to be abandoned?

cheese!
we found this smiling cactus. we promise we did not deface him. or face him. however you want to look at it:)

view
the view during one of our hikes

Go! monkey Go!
Jeff likes to climb anything he can

super windy
near La Isleta

windy
near a cliff in La Isleta

the trail
hiking along the cliffs near Las Negras

Jellyfish
these guys were all over one of the beaches

Comments

[Nichole Z]

Beautiful
You know, you have truly been to some beautiful places and have some amazing memories to share.