Our Favourite National Parks in Spain.

Spain is recognized around the world for its paradise beaches, but not so much for its natural national parks and that is a pity since the flamenco Country has some natural gems hidden from the outer world.

Yes nature lovers, Spain, like every other country has some special green places along its territory, and we want to share with you our favorite National Parks next.

Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, Catalonia:
This is one of the most amazing parks of Spain because of the mix of the Pyrenean Mountains with the lakes, torrents and waterfalls of crystal water.

The park has also forest and it is the home of a great variety of animals and plants. For this is the perfect place for adventure seekers travelers. Although the park does not allow entering in private cars you have the option to get a 4×4 taxi to move inside the located areas inside the national park.

There are many paths to do trekking, but please, before enter in this spanish national park, check the difficulty of each of them before choosing because some of them can be very hard if you are not prepared.

In this National Park, there are also paths to do mountain biking, and during the winter you have a couple of ski station to enjoy of the snow and the beautiful views of the Pyrenees while skiing.

Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, Galicia:
This park is shaped by and archipelago facing the Atlantic. Being the only national park of the region the activities on the park are cautious controlled because of the delicate ecosystem. It comprises the archipelagos of Cíes, Ons, Sálvora and Cortegada. The park covers a land area of 1,200 hectares and a sea area of 7,200 hectares.

Sailing, scuba diving and camping are all available from Cíes Island but restrictions apply and it’s important to read about those restrictions before you travel.

It is the most visited park in all Spain and the amount of people getting in is controlled so please check the forms and apply before getting there.

Garajonay National Park, Canary Islands:
this park is different from the rest of the canary parks because of the landscape and vegetation. Here you will be in touch with virgin vegetation.

Thanks to its meteorological conditions the clouds hang very low which makes the atmosphere very humid and this leads to special and magical vegetation. There are many different plants to see here and a great variety of birds. Canary Islands has 4 national park (Caldera de Taburiente, Timanfaya, Teide and Garajonay National Park), but the last one without doubt is our favourite.

Picos de Europa, Asturias, Cantabria and, Castile and León:
This beautiful National Park, was the first protected space in Spain and it’s the third one most visited among all the natural parks in Spain. It has around 30 tracks to do hiking which cover the most representative areas of the park.

Picos de Europa is perfect for the snow sport lovers because you can do here many activities besides skiing like cross country skiing, snow walking and ice climbing. There are lakes worth seeing by the beauty of the landscape and the iconic peak Naranjo de Bulnes.

You can also find here some roman roads which gives the special historic touch to your natural experience in this Park.

Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid and Castile and León:
with 34000 hectares of protected area. Guadarrama counts with granite rocks enriching with this material the constructions over the area and giving a very unique touch to the architecture you will see in the park.

This place is the favorite for people around Madrid to have an escape of the daily basis routines. Due to its proximity to Madrid the park appears in innumerable paintings. Actually Velázquez used as a landscape for many of the royal portraits he painted.

But not only in the art we can appreciate the magnitude and importance of guadarrama, also the big scream used in the 50s Hollywood productions. Many of the big monuments of the regions use guadarrama as part of the landscape.

Today you can find a variety of activities to enjoy the nature and the beauty of this land. Rock climbing, hiking, biking and trekking.

If you have the luck to go in winter time then you can chose from Nordic ski, snowshoeing, snow board, winter ascents and sleds.

Sierra de Guadarrama will be a very special place for you, if you are an outdoors lover traveler type, so please do not miss this gem when you travel to Spain.

Sierra Nevada, Andalucía:
You may not remember but we have mentioned this place a couple of times in previous post because this park is very close to the Alhambra since is located in Granada region.

Sierra Nevada is the highest mountain range after the Alps in all Europe and you can do many activities here depending on the season you visit Sierra Nevada you could almost do any activity here, mountain biking, hiking, Skiing since it has more than 20 peaks over 3000 meters.

There are fifteen national parks in Spain. Ten in the Iberian Peninsula and five in the Canary and Balearic Islands.

Each of them is special in some way, and we are sure that you will have an unforgettable trip to Spain if you explore inside one of this magical places.

Enjoy your natural adventure in Spain!