Cadiz flat

PARQUE NACIONAL DE DOÑANA

The Coto Donana National Park is Europe’s largest wildlife sanctuary and an important wetland for migrating birds. It stretches over more than 50,000 hectares, with a similar area taken up by the surrounding buffer zones of pre-Parque and Parque Natural. Its fauna comprises over 250 species of bird that choose this site as a migration stopover, and mammals such as red deer, fallow deer, wild boar, mongoose and lynx all of which have earned the park its reputation as the most important nature reserve in Europe. The park may be entered via Sanlucar de Barrameda in Cadiz province, crossing the Guadalquivir on the vessel Real Fernando that makes daily trips to the Reception Centre of Fabrica de Hielo.

ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN “Alberto Duran”
Jerez

Located in the Tempul Gardens which date from 1869, Jerez Zoo is probably the most important zoo in Andalucia. The zoo has an important wildlife conservation programme, and plays a vital role in certain projects for threatened species, such as the Iberian Lynx. There are more than 1300 animals in the zoo, representing 200 species from five continents. The Botanic Gardens are planted throughout the park, and feature examples of exotic as well as indigenous plants.

PARQUE NATURAL LOS ALCORNOCALES
	Located just north of Tarifa, and named after the expanses of cork oak and wild olive trees, this is one of the most extensive Mediterranean woodlands in Europe. This park provides a haven for large number of fox, deer, mongoose, weasel, wildcats, pheasant, partridge….even vultures.

BARBATE NATURE PARK
	Barbate Nature Park is the second largest coastal reserve in Andalucia, and is home to colonies of egrets, kestrels and herring gulls. The impressive towering cliffs at Los Canos de Meca and Torre del Tajo are considered amongst the best preserved and diverse parts of the whole coast, and not surprisingly this area is protected due to the ecosystems and the offshore marine life.

WHALE AND DOLPHIN WATCHING
	The area around Tarifa, at the meeting place of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, is uniquely important from an environmental viewpoint, and provides a rich source of nutrition for the abundant marine life. Large numbers of whale and dolphin congregate in these waters and numerous operators offer whale and dolphin watching trips.