Flowers in Coto Doñana national park.
Coto Doñana
national park
By Jo Williams
The Parque Nacional de Doñana is one of Europe's
most important wetland reserves and a major site for migrating birds.
It is an immense area; the parque itself and surrounding parque
natural or Entorno de Doñana (a protected buffer zone) amount to
over 1,300 sq km in the provinces of Huelva, Sevilla and Cádiz.
It is internationally for recognised for its great ecological wealth.
Doñana has become a key centre in the world of conservationism.
Doñana is well known for its enormous variety of bird species,
either permanent residents, winter visitors from north and central
Europe or summer visitors from Africa, like its numerous types of
geese and colourful colonies of flamingo. It has one of the world's
largest colonies of Spanish imperial eagles. The park as a whole
comprises three distinct kinds of ecosystem: the marismas, the Mediterranean
scrublands and the coastal mobile dunes with their beaches.
The configuration of the Parque Nacional de Doñana is a result
of its past as the delta of the Guadalquivir river, the 'big river',
or Wada-I-Kebir, of the Moors. But it is a delta with a difference.
Unlike most, the river has only one outlet to the sea, just below
Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The rest of what used to be its delta has
gradually been blocked off by a huge sandbar that stretches from
the mouth of the Río Tinto, near Palos de la Frontera, to the riverbank
opposite Sanlúcar, and which the sea winds have gradually formed
into high dunes. Behind this natural barrier stretches the marshlands
(marismas).
The effect of this extraordinary mélange of land and water was
to create an environment shunned by people but ideal for wildlife.
As early as the thirteenth century, the kings of Castille set aside
a portion of the Doñana as a royal hunting estate; later the dukes
of Medina Sidonia made it their private coto too. One of the duchesses
of Medina Sidonia, Doná Ana de Silva y Mendoza, indulged her antisocial
instincts by building a residence there that was more hermitage
than palace. As a result, the entire region came to be known as
the 'forest of Doná Ana', or Doñana. In the eighteenth century,
Goya is known to have visited the Duchess of Alba at the Palacio
de Doñana when she was its proprietress. Subsequently, the land
passed through many hands before the official creation of the parque
nacional in 1969.
Meanwhile, adjoining areas of wetland were being dramatically
reduced. Across the Guadalquivir vast marshes were drained and converted
to farmland, until only the protected lands of the Doñana remained
intact. For centuries there had been only a vacant spot on the map
between Lebrija in the east and Almonte in the north west, but in
recent years whole towns and villages have sprung up west of the
Guadalquivir, and the resort town of Matalascañas has brought urban
sprawl to the south-western edge of the Doñana, a place once occupied
by reed-thatched fishermen's huts. The proximity of these settlements
has further complicated the work of the park's wildlife guardians.
Two of the Doñana's precious lynxes, for example, have been run
over by cars on the highway to Matalascañas; cats and dogs straying
out of the nearest towns have killed animals in the park, and birds
that have overflown the fences have been gunned down by trigger-happy
hunters despite stringent conservation laws.
A more permanent threat to the Doñana's ecosystem are the new
ricefields and other agricultural projects north of El Rocío, whose
run-off waters sluice pesticides into the marismas and the sulphur
mines upstream at Aznalcóliar which was effluvium into the river.
Access
Entrance to the park is strictly controlled. You can take half-day
trips with official guides or explore the environs of the visitors'
centres on foot.
To visit the principal visitors' centre at El Acebuche, take the
A483 south of Almonte and about 12km from El Rocío is the signposted
turn at Km29 for Centro de Recepción El Acebuche (959 44 87 11),
1½km from the main road. Alternatively, you can drive 3km north
of Matalascañas to the turn-off at Km29. The centre has an exhibition
about the park, a café and a shop selling maps and books. From the
centre is a signposted 5km trail through scrubland and pine trees.
Next to the centre is the El Acebuche lagoon, with bird hides, where
you can see purple gallinules, among other birds.
From El Acebuche there are four-hour trips into the park run by
the Cooperativa Marsimas del Rocío (959 43 04 32), which must be
booked in advance. The four-wheel drive vehicle can seat 21 people
and guides speak some English. There are two trips a day (excluding
Mondays), at 0830 and 1500 (1700 in summer). Full day trips can
also be organised for groups, with lunch in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
A typical trip will take in all three ecosystems in the park - dunes,
matorral and marshland - but the amount of exposure to each environment
varies with the seasons. One thing is guaranteed - no two visits
will be alike.
The nearest visitors' centre to El Rocío is La Rocina (959 44
23 40), 500m from the village and just off the Matalascañas road.
It has information on the park and a 3km-long nature trail along
the freshwater lake and marshland Charco de la Boca, which feeds
into the Madres de la Marismas at El Rocío. The trail has five bird
hides and it's possible to see purple gallinules, hoopoes, herons
and Savi's warblers, among other birds.
Seven kilometres on from La Rocina is the Palacio del Acebrón,
an old hunting lodge containing exhibitions on the park. In the
grounds is a pleasant 1½-km nature trail through woodland and around
a small lake, the Charco del Acebrón.
The Centro de Visitantes José Antonio Valverde on the northern
edge of the park has some excellent birdwatching opportunities.
It is 30km south of the town of Villamanrique de la Condesa, from
where it is signposted.
The Playa de Castilla beach, reached on foot east of Matalascañas,
runs alongside the park boundary and although you can't enter Doñana
here, it is a beautiful, unspoilt stretch of coastline with good
birdwatching possibilities.
The park can also be reached (but not entered) by taking the ferry
boat across the Guadalquivir river from Sanlúcar de Barrameda where
there is a visitors' centre, the Centro de Visitantes Fábrica de
Hielo (956 38 16 35), with exhibitions on the Doñana. You can take
the Real Fernando boat daily (except in January) from Sanlúcar for
13km up the Guadalquivir river, stopping in a few places for guided
walks into the park. It's advisable to book in advance, especially
during the summer and holidays.
Accommodation
The closest accommodation to the entry point of El Acebuche in the
park is in Matalascañas, about 3km from El Acebuche. Ten kilometres
north of El Acebuche is the village of El Rocío, with various hotels.
Alternatively, between Matalascañas and Huelva there is Mazagón
or Villamanrique de la Condesa to the north of the park. Accommodation
will be very hard to find (or extremely expensive) around the time
of the El Rocío pilgrimage at Pentecost. During the summer months
Matalascañas and Mazagón are also very busy, so book ahead at this
time.
• El Cortijo de los Mimbrales (959 44 22 37) Conveniently
located for the park on the A483 El Rocío-Matalascañas road, 3km
south of El Rocío. A former farm in an orange grove with delightful
rooms set in beautiful gardens. Excellent bar and restaurant.
• Hotel Toruño (959 44 23 23) This is the best hotel
in El Rocío. It is in a great location overlooking the marismas,
so you can even birdwatch from your bedroom, if you choose your
room carefully (ask for rooms 219, 221, 223 or 223).
Camping
There are many campsites close to the Playa de Castilla beach along
the A494 between Mazagón and Matalascañas, which runs alongside
the park boundary. In the summer it's well worth booking in advance
when the campsites could be full, particularly in August.
• Camping Doñana (959 53 62 81) At the Mazagón end
of the A494 at Km34.6, this shady campsite has wooden cabins and
tents for rent and a swimming pool.
• Camping La Aldea Located inland on the edge of El
Rocío village near the marismas, this campsite has bungalows for
hire, a bar and a shop.
• Camping Rocío Playa (959 43 02 38) On the A494 Mazagón-Matalascañas
road at Km 45.2, 1½km west of Matalascañas, is this large campsite.
Facilities include a restaurant, tennis court, football pitch and
a bar with wonderful views. There are wooden bungalows and tents
for hire.
Flora
The park supports an incredible array of vegetation in a variety
of virgin habitats. Inland are large expanses of stone pines, as
well as Mediterranean scrublands, with narrow leaved cistus heather,
mastic tree, rosemary, cistus scrub, glasswort, red lavender, rosemary
and thyme. There are also junipers and forests of cork oaks, known
as "las pajareras" for the enormous quantity of birds that nest
in them. Among the flowering plants are lavender, tree heaths, gladioli,
irises and rock roses. In the spring the marshlands are covered
with flowers.
Fauna
This is a vast wilderness that supports an unrivalled wealth of
fauna; 125 species of birds are known to be resident here, as well
as 125 migratory bird species, 17 reptiles, nine amphibians and
eight species of fish. There is a rich variety of mammals, 28 species
in total, with some in danger of extinction, such as the lynx and
the Egyptian mongoose. Also here are badgers, rabbits and otters.
Game is also plentiful, with red deer, fallow deer and wild boar.
Bird watching in Coto Doñana.
Birds
Doñana comprises delta waters which flood in winter and then drop
in the spring leaving rich deposits of silt and raised sandbanks
and islands. These conditions are perfect in winter for geese and
ducks but most exciting in spring when they draw hundreds of flocks
of breeding birds. If you're lucky you may also catch a glimpse
of the rare Spanish Imperial Eagle, now down to 15 breeding pairs.
In the marshes and amid the cork oak forests behind you've a good
chance of seeing grey herons, lanner falcons, ring and turtle doves,
partridges, oxpeckers, cattle egret, storks and vultures.
What you see at Doñana depends on the time of year and the luck
of the draw - November, December and January constitute the off-season
for visitors but is an ideal time for waterfowl, since the autumn
rains have brought life back to the marismas and filled the lagunas.
Gradually, the water attains a uniform depth of 30-60 centimetres
(12-24 inches) over vast areas and the resulting marches attract
huge flocks of wildfowl, ducks, geese and other water birds of the
most varied kind. These are freshwater marshes, incidentally, although
there are traces of sea salt in the underlying silt. Here and there
small islands (vetas) rise above the water. These remain dry throughout
the year, creating an ideal breeding ground for waders and terns.
Towards the end of February the geese that have migrated here
from northern Europe commence their return journey, but at the same
time the spoonbills arrive from North Africa to nest in the cork
oaks. In March the waters begin to recede and spring begins in earnest.
This is also the time when the imperial eagle hatches its eggs:
15 breeding pairs of these formidable hunters were counted recently
in the park - above a third of all the imperial eagles known to
survive in Spain. Each pair requires nearly 2,600 hectares of land
to hunt over in summer, and even more in winter. This is a far from
perfect environment for these great birds and Doñana pairs seldom
raise as many young as those elsewhere in Spain.
In spring the marismas are alive with birds - some settling down
to breed, others en route for more northern climes. Huge numbers
of kites hang in the air, harriers send the duck scurrying skywards
in fear of their lives. There are black-tailed godwit and ruff on
their way to Holland and beyond, greenhank and wood sandpiper bound
for Scandinavia, little stint and curlew sandpiper heading for northern
Siberia and usually a marsh sandpiper that should be a thousand
kilometres or more further east.
Overhead, vast flocks of whiskered terns wheel and circle along
with a few gullbilled terns and racy pratincoles. There are swallows
galore, some of them red-rumped, and bee-eaters and rollers perch
on post and wire. All of these and more can be seen from the bridge
at El Rocío - perhaps the best free birdwatching in Europe.
From bird hides at the reserve centre, just south of the bridge,
you will hear Cetti's and Savi's warblers and watch egrets, herons
and little bitterns come and go. Marsh harriers and kites are continually
on view and sometimes a majestic imperial eagle will soar from the
woods of Doñana over El Rocío to the Coto del Rey.
In mid-summer the temperature in the parched marismas easily exceeds
40°C. Aquatic birds that remain in the stagnant pools die of botulism,
and each year thousands more die during the advancing drought in
the Doñana. In August, there is almost nothing left of the marsh's
aquatic fauna, but it is a good time for observing dozens of summer
residents, which include griffon vulture, booted eagle, red and
black kites, short toed eagle, Baillon's crake, purple gallinule,
great spotted cuckoo, Scops owl, red necked nightjar, bee eater,
hoopoe, calandra, short toed and thekla larks, golden oriole, azure
winged magpie. Cetti's and Savi's warblers, tawny pipit, great grey
shrike, woodchat shrike and serin.
Rivers
As part of the Guadalquivir delta, the park is riddled with creeks
and streams, the main ones being the Brazo de la Torre, the Caño
de Guadiamar and Caño Real. The park is dotted with ponds (lucios)
that, like the marshlands themselves, can dry up almost completely
in summer.
Walks
 |
| Footpaths of Doñana. |
The core of the park is off-limits to independent walkers. There
are footpaths, often with bird hides, leading from the following
visitors' centres: El Acebuche, La Rocina and El Palacio del Acebrón.
You can also walk alonside the park boundary on the Playa de Castilla,
near Matalascañas. A signposted walk, the Sendero Laguna del
Jaral Medano del Asperillo, is off the A494 at Km 47. Coming
from Matalascañas, there is a car park on the left with an information
board and map. It is a challenging circular 5.6km trail that crosses
sand dunes and pine woods and will take around 3½ hours. It has
superb views of the sea. Make sure you take plenty of water and
go when it is not too hot.
Also signposted is the Sendero Cuesta del Maneli. This
is a circular trail through the dunes and pine woodland between
the road and the beach. It is 2.3km long and takes around 1½ hours
and is easier than the Sendero Laguna del Jaral Medano del Asperillo.
To get there, take the off the A494 Matalascañas-Mazagón road and
at Km 38 there is a car park and information board.
Villages
El Rocío
Matalascañas
Mazagón
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Villamanrique de la Condesa
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