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From the Pyrenees to Sierra Nevada.
From the wild flower
meadows
in Andalusia to the coastal viewpoints of Mallorca and Menorca.
From the alternative Celtic routes in Galicia to the forgotten mountains in the Basque Country.
All these hills, mountains,
fields, beaches and cliffs
have a careful network of trails,
mountain refuges
or simple pensions in small towns that contribute to making Spain the dream of thousands of hikers from all over the world.
All these proposals fit in a guide, that of
The best excursions in Spain.
60 day trips to nature (
Stuart Butler,
editorial Lonely Planet, 224 pages), a gem
with maps included
whose objective is to help us discover and enjoy the nature of our country.
It is
the second most mountainous in Europe for
a reason .
Next, we go through some of these unique landscapes that we have a stone's throw away.
THE PYRENEES
The imposing natural border
between Spain and France
is the main hiking destination in Spain.
The mountain range is of a sweetened beauty in the lower slopes and rugged and inhospitable in higher areas.
The Pyrenees are home to two outstanding national parks:
Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici
and Ordesa y Monte Perdido.
PICOS DE EUROPE AND NORTH OF SPAIN
The amazing and accessible
limestone mountain ranges
, with their unmistakable escarpments (also popular rock climbing destinations) preside over the first national park in Spain, the Picos de Europa, which extends through
Cantabria, Asturias and León
.
This is one of the best hiking areas in the country.
Elsewhere in the north, a network of trails wind up and down cliffs and link timeless inland villages.
Two hikers in the Picos de Europa. SHUTTERSTOCK
GALICIA
In summer, when half of Spain is roasting and
hiking
can be more an act of resistance than enjoyment, Galicia comes to the rescue of this practice.
Lush, humid and verdant
, the northwest corner of the country is a cocktail of tortuous coastline, old stone towns and hills upon hills.
Throughout its surface hiking is wonderful.
CENTER OF SPAIN
The central region of the country offers much more than
Don Quixote,
windmills and vast wheat fields.
The Sistema Central, a spine of rugged, rocky mountains rising more than 2,200 meters from the plateau, provides an oasis of enchanting
alpine nature
.
The people of Madrid are common on these mountain tracks, something that foreign hikers tend to overlook.
ANDALUSIA
The South surprises with its contrasts.
Here the walker can travel between the white villages
of the Alpujarras valleys
and the Cazorla and Grazalema mountains, climb snow-capped peaks and bathe in the exceptional Mediterranean beaches, some of which are unexpectedly wild.
This variety makes Andalusia a fabulous
hiking destination
all year round.
Panoramic view of the town of Cazorla.ANDALUCIA.ORG
MEDITERRANEAN COAST
While the Spanish Mediterranean coastline is perhaps best known for its sprawling resorts, there is wildlife beyond.
Its trails span cliffside routes to
idyllic beaches,
pilgrim paths and arduous hikes.
These warm, parched coastal trails are a great fall-to-spring
hiker's destination
, while the mountainous interior is cooler and better from spring-to-fall.
MAJORCA AND MENORCA
These islands welcome visitors with a wide
kaleidoscope of landscapes:
immaculate coves with turquoise waters, wooded gorges, stone gorges,
vertiginous cliffs,
pine and oak forests, vestiges of past cultures and
white sand beaches
.
Although some paths in Mallorca and Menorca are well-trodden, there are also paths to enjoy solitude.
Menorca is characterized by its coves with crystal clear waters. SHUTTERSTOCK
SANTIAGO'S ROAD
Although there are many paths that lead to Santiago de Compostela, the most popular is
the French
path , which stretches 770 kilometers through the north of the peninsula from the Pyrenees.
Its list of assets is impressive, as it is not only the first Cultural Route of the Council of Europe and the centerpiece of the Camino, declared
a World Heritage Site by Unesco
, but, for believers, it is a pilgrimage equivalent to visiting Jerusalem.
You can follow
El Mundo Viajes
on
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