Known mainly for its marshes, the place where numerous birds find their refuge, the Doñana National Park also houses a great diversity of environmental units of high ecological value. Beaches, marshes, dunes and pine forests make up a changing landscape throughout the year in which each season is a unique spectacle for the visitor who comes to know it.
This region is covered by two national protection figures: the National Park, which is located between Huelva and Seville; and the Natural Space, with a less restricted public use and that covers the provinces of Huelva, Cádiz and Seville.
Straddling Europe and Africa, the Guadalquivir marshes are an ideal area for the passage, wintering and breeding of more than 200 species of birds, among which the black stork ( Ciconia nigra ), the malvasia ( Oxyura leucocephala ), the purple swamphen ( Porphyrio porphyrio ), flamingo ( Phoenicopterus roseus ) and horned coot ( Fulica cristata ). In addition, one of the last populations of the Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ) is located in Doñana and has the presence of another large threatened predator: the Iberian imperial eagle ( Aquila adalberti ).
A changing landscape
On the beaches of Doñana there are several systems of living dunes whose sand is constantly pushed by the wind and is dragged to the edge of the marsh, burying stone pine ( Pinus pinea ) and juniper ( Juniperus phoenicia ) forests in its path. These scrub patches disappear and reappear at the pace set by the dune. When the sands stabilize, preserves or scrub areas are formed, areas less changing than the rest of the environmental units of Doñana and in which two parts are distinguished: the white forest and the black forest. The former is drier and owes its name to the predominance of jagz ( Halimium halimifolium ), a shrub with whitish leaves. Monte Negro is located in humid areas and there are various species of heather ( Erica scoparia, Calluna vulgaris ).
In the places of contact between the dunes and the scrub of the marsh, the ‘veras’ are formed, areas of great ecological wealth in which the cork oaks ( Quercus suber ) grow and whose pastures deer, rabbits and domestic cattle come to feed.
The Coto de Doña Ana
The name of this land comes from the 16th century, when the seventh Duke of Medina Sidonia ordered the construction of a palace for his wife, Doña Ana Gómez de Mendoza y Silva. The lands that surrounded the building began to be known as the Coto de Doña Ana or the Doña Ana forest, until the name was shortened and remained in the current name.
The area has not always been protected, and in the 20th century various animal species were introduced and stone pine plantations were made. Doñana was an important hunting area in which hunting was organized on a regular basis. The protection of the space came in 1963, when the Spanish State and WWF bought some 7,000 hectares and created the Doñana Biological Reserve. Six years later, in 1969, the Natural Park would be designated.
Visit to Doñana
Although you can get to Doñana from different locations, the most common is to access from Huelva capital via Matalascañas, or from Seville to Almonte, El Rocío and Matalascañas. Throughout the region there are numerous museums and visitor centers. The National Park office is located in Acebuche, about three kilometers from Matalascañas on the A-483 road. In this center you can visit the exhibition on Doñana and book the itinerary in an all-terrain vehicle through the interior of the Park. In addition, two pedestrian paths start from there, the first of them with several bird observatories, and the second that runs through the areas of preserves and pine forests.
In the Natural Area there are also two areas designed for cycling: the Asperillo Route, which is just over 16 kilometers long, and the Vereda del Loro Route, with 23 kilometers that cross pine forests and lagoon areas.
