Welcome to Southern Spain
The Cabo de Gata area is relatively undiscovered. The fact that it is hidden behind the foothills of Europe's largest greenhouse area may well have contributed to this. If you leave the A7 highway between Almeria and Murcia to exit to Cabo de Gata and our holiday home, you will first drive between the "invernaderos", before you reach the unspoilt Cabo de Gata nature reserve.
Greenhouses
When you arrive in southern Spain for the first time, it might look awful. Agricultural greenhouses and plastic everywhere. It looks like a third world country. When you drive through this area, you know for sure: 'now I'm on the edge of Europe'. Don't be intimidated and discover the abundant nature behind it!
In winter, these greenhouses are where the cucumbers and tomatoes that you buy in the supermarket come from. This intensive form of agriculture has brought economic development to the area, but also many ecological problems. You can read more about it in the section on water elsewhere on this site.
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
From Cortijo de Romualda you can walk straight into the nature reserve. It literally starts on your doorstep. In 1997, the Cabo de Gata Natural Park was designated a "UNESCO Biosphere Reserve". The reserve is home to about 1000 different plants and more than 1100 animal species, many of which are birds. Because of this, the European Union has therefore designated the area as a Special Bird Protection Area, in particular. Large numbers of binds migrate here during winter to stay in the salt flats near Salina.
