ANDALUCÍA has just acquired another National Park – a status that could dramatically increase tourism income and job creation, vital in the holiday industry's post-pandemic recovery.
Málaga province's first National Park, the Sierra de las Nieves (photos 1-4: Andalucía regional tourist board)
The Sierra de las Nieves is shared between the Málaga-province towns of El Burgo, Yunquera, Tolox, Monda, Istán, Benahavís, Parauta and Ronda, and its impact as a key visitor hotspot is expected to be felt in the neighbouring municipalities of Alozaina, Casarabonela, Guaro, Igualeja, Ojén and Serrato.
“Now is the time for us to make a determined focus on Andalucía's natural environment to create 'green jobs' and turn our rural heritage into a key player in our community's post-Covid social and economic recovery,” says regional environment minister Carmen Crespo.
The southern strip of mainland Spain has just upped its number of National Parks by 50% - it is also home to the Doñana, which sits mostly in the province of Huelva but spills partly into that of Cádiz, and the Sierra Nevada in the province of Granada, one of southern Europe's most popular ski resort areas, clearly visible from the Alhambra Palace, and partly shared with the next province to the north, Almería.
Curiously, two of the three National Parks in Andalucía have names that suggest the polar opposite to the region's fame as a popular sunshine destination: Sierra Nevada translates approximately as 'snow-covered mountain range', and Sierra de las Nieves roughly means 'mountain range of the snows'.
Indeed, at altitudes of 1,000 feet or more, snow in deep winter is fairly common in Spain, even in its warmest regions, and the country is replete with ski resorts scattered widely enough that a high percentage of the population can either get to the slopes and back in a day, or can feasibly do so with just a one-night stay locally.
And as the second-most mountainous country in Europe after Switzerland – which makes it the most mountainous in the EU – Spain is not short of rural areas of exceptional beauty and botanical and biological value.
The mountains are frequently home to rare and endangered species of plants, trees, birds and other wildlife, which are often endemic to the region or even the specific country enclave in question.
And the Sierra de las Nieves is no exception; in fact, it is one of the most extensive and best-preserved pinsapares, or Spanish fir forests (see picture three), in mainland Spain and Portugal, a highly-satisfying spot for bird-watchers, and a natural habitat for relatively rare wild mammals, such as the mountain goat.
It was declared an officially-protected nature reserve – of which Spain has numerous in every region; most residents live a short drive away from at least one – in 1989, and a Biosphere Reserve, of which Spain has more than any other European country, in 1995.
Sra Crespo also refers to the 'wise relationship' which local inhabitants have 'historically maintained with their natural surroundings', living off and with the land whilst treating it with the utmost respect rather than plundering its resources to a damaging degree – meaning their way of life has contributed heavily to the successful conservation of the area.
Spain has 16 National Parks – until this week, it had 15 - and Andalucía, now it has three, is the region with the most on the mainland, although the region with the most overall is the Canary Islands, with four: Teide (Tenerife), Timanfaya (Lanzarote), Garajonay (La Gomera), and Caldera de Taburiente (La Palma).
Two National Parks spread out over more than one region: The Picos de Europa mountains (Cantabria, Asturias, and the province of León in Castilla y León), and the Sierra de Guadarrama, another popular skiing site (Madrid and the Castilla y León province of Segovia).
The Balearic Islands has one, the 19 uninhabited Cabrera Isles, from which day trips run regularly by boat from Mallorca; two are on the edge of the Pyrénées, the Ordesa y Monte Perdido in the Aragón province of Huesca, and Aigüestortes and Lake San Mauricio in the Catalunya province of Lleida.
Castilla-La Mancha has two – the Cabañeros, spread across the provinces of Ciudad Real and Toledo, and the Tablas de Daimiel in the province of Ciudad Real; this means Ciudad Real is the only province in mainland Spain with more than one National Park in it.
‘Sierra de las Nieves’ translates as ‘mountain range of the snow’ - and in winter, it does. (Photo: Repsol Guide, or Guía Repsol)
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