Tabernas

Only 15km northeast of Almeria city is this largely barren and rugged 8,500ha mountain range, designated a protected natural area in 1989. Riven by deep gullies, particularly on its southern slopes, it rises to 1,387m at its highest point of the Colativí peak.

Sandwiched between the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, Gador, Filabres and Alhamilla is one of the most dramatic landscapes in Spain, the desolate Desierto de Tabernas. The only semi-desert in Europe; there is a surreal, lunar quality about its wierdly eroded ravines, dry river beds and barren slopes apparently devoid of vegetation, bleached by the sun and occasionally singed with ochre hues.

The Tourist Office of Tabernas is located in Avenida de las Angustias (Wild West style Saloon building), opening from Monday to Sunday.

The festivals in Tabernas are Cabalgata de Reyes Magos, San Sebastián, Día de Andalucía, Semana Santa, Fiestas de San Marcos, Romería de San Isidro, Fiestas de San Juan and Feria de Tabernas en Honor a la Virgen de las Angustias.

It is believed that the village’s name comes from Thabernax, named for the Greek legions, because it was the place where the troops were supplied in many inns or sales. Prehistoric settlements have been found, such as the town of Terrera Ventura (2850-1950 B.C), a Neolithic agro-pastoral and livestock settlement.

Situated at Km 474 of the N-340 highway is Route 66, a popular American bar. Its name draws a link between the famous dusty American road and Spain´s iconic coastal route, and sits well amongst the Tabernas Desert, a filming location for many Hollywood Westerns.

The landscapes surrounding Tabernas are practically lunar. Its canyons and rocky plains have been used as film sets since the days of Clint Eastwood and the Spaghetti Westerns. More recently, Game of Thrones was filmed in the desert gorges known as the Rambla del Cautivo and La Rambla del Buho near the village.