You don’t have to travel thousands of miles to make your travel dreams come true. Those dreamy holiday paradises that you have been fantasising about are closer than you might think. Here we offer you a trip to the most spectacular corners of the planet (and part of the universe) without having to carry a passport.
A South Seas beach
White sandy beaches under coconut trees and a blue sea. We imagine the best beach in the world in the South Seas. Polynesia is the first destination that comes to mind. Then there are the Seychelles, Mauritius and the Caribbean. But we don’t have to go that far, because the Spanish coast has its own vision of heavenly sands. Rodas Beach, the main beach in the Cíes Islands, is considered to be one of the ten best beaches in the world because of its remoteness from urbanisation, the beauty of its landscape and the tranquillity you can breathe there.
Epicentre of the National Park of the Atlantic Islands, here the coast is shaded by pine trees instead of coconut trees, and instead of Tahiti, Papette or Bora Bora, the references are Oms, Sálvora, Cortegada and the Cíes themselves. And although the water temperature is not the same, its freshness is appreciated in summer. After the dip, exquisite mussels, goose barnacles, spider crabs and a cool ribeiro are served instead of fresh fish marinated in lime juice, parrot fish or fruit juice and rum.
Alpine scene in the Pyrenees
Imagine the Alps. A landscape of green pastures slowly giving way to high mountains, with jagged peaks, steep glacial slopes, soothing forests and a string of lakes scattered here and there. It could be the setting for Grindelwald in Switzerland, the transalpine Monte Paradiso or Chamonix in France. We are in the heart of the Illerdense Pyrenees, in the regions of Alta Ribagorza, Pallars-Jussà, Pallars-Subirà and the Aran Valley, where the magnificent surroundings of Lake Sant Maurici and the Encantats rise. It is a mountainous region, with some peaks over three thousand metres high, the highest in the Pyrenees. This is the case of the Besiberris and the Comaloformo. Although the most famous peaks are the Amitges peaks, a reference point for Catalan mountaineering, and the Encantats twins, which give the park its name. The outstanding biodiversity of this area led to its early declaration as a protected area, becoming a National Park in 1955, although it is above all its landscape that stands out.
Of glacial origin, it is characterised by the presence of several important watercourses and, above all, numerous lakes of glacial origin. There are up to 80 lakes in the reserve: Saboredos, Gerber, Besiberri des Monges, Negre and Colomer are some of the most important. Among the activities that can be practised in the park are climbing, mountaineering and, above all, hiking. There are many signposted routes and a network of refuges to ensure safe and peaceful walking.
Marte en Andalucía
If there was any doubt, the Moonwalk project (sponsored by the National Institute of Aerospace Technology, INTA, and involving seven European countries) has removed it. Mars lies in a lost corner of Huelva, among fields of rocky scrubland and ravines covered with jaguar, heather and mastic trees. What it sounds like. It is the River Tinto.
This river owes its name to the reddish colour of its waters. The river is coloured by the dissolution in its waters of sulphides and heavy metals from mining, mainly pyrite, but also copper and manganese, which the Iberian peoples extracted 5,000 years ago. Some time later, the Romans opened what would become the largest open-cast mine in Europe. This river, which runs for 100 kilometres through the province of Huelva, has very acid water and high levels of manganese, cadmium, iron and copper, giving it extreme characteristics similar to the Martian environment. This is why NASA has chosen it for its research. The Junta de Andalucía has declared the upper and middle sections of the river Tinto a protected landscape, and several companies in the region organise activities such as walks and excursions in the area.
Havana with a little more flair
Havana is Cadiz with more negritos; Cadiz, Havana with more salero. We do not want to rob the unforgettable Carlos Cano, singer of the Habanera de Cádiz, nor the journalist and writer Antonio Burgos, author of its lyrics, of the discovery of the similarity between these two sister cities. The song, the parallelism it describes, has dazzled voices of the calibre of María Dolores Pradera, Nati Mistral, Pasión Vega and Chano Lobato among others. It is no joke.
Two old white farmhouses with a Spanish, Andalusian and Mediterranean flavour, close to the sea. Perfect symmetry, like copies on onion paper, the places are repeated on both sides of the Atlantic. If there is the Morro of Havana, there is the lighthouse of La Caleta. If on this side we have the castle of Santa Catalina, its reflection is the Morro Fort. Caribbean heat and Andalusian sunshine in equal parts. And the people are open, simple and friendly. Some stroll along the Malecón, others along the Campo del Sur. The former, sitting on discarded car wheels and patched up a thousand times, fish for clarias and other gourmet fish, while the latter are busy catching sea urchins to sell on any street corner in La Tacita de Plata. If Havana has “La Bodeguita del Medio”, Cádiz has the wonderful “Casa Manteca”, with one of the most unique tapas menus in Spain. In other words, Cádiz is Havana with more flair.
Wooden Gemella
Macaronesia is the island region that occupies the North Atlantic and includes the archipelagos of Cape Verde, the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira. It is easy to find similarities between these islands, due to their volcanic origin, their unique nature and the way man has used their territory. In this sense, the most similar islands are Madeira in Portugal and La Palma in the Canaries.
The tropical exoticism of their respective metropolises, whose characteristics are so similar that to mention one is to speak of the other. From the narrow beaches, with hardly any space before plunging into the Atlantic, to the windswept peaks, often surrounded by clouds, not forgetting the primeval forests, heralds of the distant Tertiary era. Both Portugal and Isla Bonita are considered international paradises for sports and nature activities. Water sports, such as sailing, canoeing and scuba diving, not to mention sea excursions and marine fauna observation, as well as land sports, such as cycling and hiking. The latter has on both islands are authentic world references. A paradise for trekking, La Palma has a network of footpaths with a total length of 1,000 kilometres and slopes of several thousand metres. Thematic routes and short, medium and long walks of all lengths and levels of difficulty await hikers determined to enjoy nature.
Visit the moon without leaving Navarre
As solitary as the Sea of Tranquillity, only the passing of a military aircraft occasionally breaks the silence and, like a space rocket, reinforces the image of the Bárdenas Reales as a lunar landscape. Located in the south-east of Navarre, this vast expanse of desert covers more than 41 hectares and, apart from a military firing range, shepherds and farmers with their flocks are the only living creatures that roam this thirsty landscape. Occasionally you can see a few cyclists riding along the paths, breaking up the scenery a little.
The Government of Navarre has declared the Bárdenas Reales a Natural Park and Unesco has declared it a Biosphere Reserve, designations that highlight its great natural value. Its ravines, slagheaps, peaks, plateaus and hills are often used as backdrops in advertising and music videos. There are numerous routes for walking, cycling and horse-riding.
Monastic Niagara
The Monastery of Piedra is the most beautiful group of waterfalls in the Iberian Peninsula. Located on the banks of the River Piedra, in the south of the province of Zaragoza, it was the monks who first discovered the charm of its remote isolation. The first monastery was built in 1194 by Cistercians from Poblet in Catalonia.
The monastery combines different elements, such as the cloister, chapter house and church, but its most striking feature is the river that surrounds it. Declared a Picturesque Site and National Monument, it was designed by the versatile Aragonese Juan Federico Muntadas in 1844. With its landscaped structure, waterfalls, cascades and gorges, it is one of the most beautiful river landscapes in Europe. The most outstanding are Cola de Caballo, with a drop of more than 50 metres, Trinidad, Caprichosa, Sombría and Iris. There are several trails in the area, some of which have been adapted for the blind. For relaxation, there are several establishments offering thermal baths and spas.
The Spanish Yosemite
It may sound far-fetched, but the canyons of Ordesa and Yosemite are very similar. It is true that the Californian rocks are granite, while those of the Alto Aragonese canyon are limestone, but both natural spaces have remarkable parallels. The valleys carved out by the Arrazas River in the Pyrenees and the Merced River in the foothills of the American Sierra Nevada are two deep gorges of glacial origin that opened up on the slopes of two important mountain ranges. This is shown by the distinctive U-shaped cross section of both. There are other similarities. Both are covered by lush coniferous thickets; redwoods, ponderosa pines and oaks in Yosemite; pines, firs, beeches and yews in Ordesa. They grow on the flat valley floor, on the sides of which rise the mighty rocky ridges between which spectacular waterfalls cascade.
The human history of the two places is no less similar. Both were among the first protected wilderness areas in their respective countries. The American one in 1890, one of the first in the world. The Spanish in 1918, the first in our country, along with the Covadonga Mountains, and one of the earliest in Europe. Both have been the crucible for the development of activities such as hunting, fishing, mountaineering, climbing and trekking, as well as nature conservation. This is still the case today.
Journey to the centre of the Earth
We know very little about what lies beneath us. Theories derived from complex scientific calculations speak of a liquid, glowing interior to the planet. The closest we know, and want to believe, are fantastic descriptions, most notably Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth. So we have to be content with that. Or approach a place as unique as this story. We are talking about El Soplao, one of the most extraordinary caves in Spain. Located in the municipalities of Herrerías, Valáliga and Rionansa, in eastern Cantabria, it is one of the most remarkable caves in the Iberian Peninsula, discovered by chance during mining operations, and so named by the miners, who called the tunnels and caverns where the air currents come from outside the cave “soplaos”.
El Soplao is one of the most interesting caves in the world, due to the nature of its karst formations. Stalactites and stalagmites, pisolites, helictites, stone threads, columns, lava flows, landslides… Formed 240 million years ago, it has galleries over 30 metres high and around 20 kilometres long, of which only four can be visited. Enough to marvel at the interior of our planet. Even if only in the first surface layer eroded by filtered water. The names of the sections give a clue to the adventure of exploring its mysterious interior: the Gallery of the Ghosts, the Gallery of the False Floor, the Gallery of the Sieran, the Gallery of the Goat, the Forest and the Cauliflower are some of them. The sight of such peculiar formations leaves the visitor speechless and confirms that nature always surpasses the most fantastic imagination. Even if, in this case, it is that of Jules Verne.
Sahara with the smell of a western
Although global warming will change this sooner rather than later, for the moment it is the only desert on the European continent. Located in the interior of the province of Almería, the Tabernas Desert covers an area of 280 square kilometres between the Filambres and Alhamilla mountain ranges. With an average annual temperature of around 18ºC, summer highs exceed 50ºC on many days and the average annual rainfall is only 243mm per square metre. Declared a Natural Space by the Junta de Andalucía, it is a landscape of sparse vegetation, with acclimatised plants such as prickly pears, esparto grass, tamarisks, oleanders, jarillas and evergreens. They grow on hills and plateaus with eroded slopes that rise in the middle of a plain furrowed by large wadis that form on rare rainy days. This is not to say that there is no life. A large community of birds can be seen throughout the year, with a greater abundance of species more suited to this type of ecosystem: ground thrushes, woodlarks, stone curlews, little bustards and blackbirds.
