Are you thinking of a walking holiday in Spain? Perhaps you are interested in seeing some of the amazing wildlife in Spain. Whatever it is, our guide to national parks in Spain provides the facts & information you should know.
Spain has an abundance of national parks that can be used for hiking, cycling, observing animals, camping or bird watching. The growth in national parks in Spain is in large part due to the reforms of the socialist government of Spain introducing new conservation minded legislation in the 1980’s. Today approximately 40,000 square kilometres of land in Spain is under conservation protection and much of this land is composed of national parks all around Spain. The good news is that most of these national parks are open to the public to enjoy, although there are varying degrees of access depending on conservation issues pertaining to the specific national park in Spain.
The best national parks in Spain
National parks in Spain vary in size, terrain and climate, so depending on what your goals are you can decide which national park in Spain is best for you to visit. Spain has a total of 13 national parks. One of these national parks is located on the Balearic Islands and a further four national parks in Spain are actually on the Canary Islands. The remaining eight national parks are scattered across mainland Spain from the north to the south.
Accommodation at national parks in Spain
Accommodation facilities at national parks in Spain vary greatly. Some national parks in Spain have small villages inside the park complete with shopping facilities and a small hotel. Other national parks in Spain have only campsites with basic facilities, while other national parks have nothing of the sort. National parks in the North of Spain become extremely popular with tourists from other regions of Spain during the hot summer months so any accommodation in these national parks in Spain should be booked well in advance.
Hiking in national parks in Spain
All national parks in Spain have specifically designated walking trails. Hiking trails in Spain are either designed to be short trails or longer trails which can take several days. Although hiking trails are supposed to be maintained at national parks in Spain, one will often find the quality of maintenance varies with some trails being heavily overgrown with weeds.
