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Routes & Tours
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Donana National Park Routes & Tours - 4WD Tours, on horseback and even by horse and carriage!
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What is Donana?
The Doñana National Park is Spain's largest protected area; Europe's biggest wetland; and one of the continent's
most extensive nature reserves. Doñana covers an area of 290,162 hectares (2,901.62 km²), equal in size to the
province of Álava or, to put it in other terms, 0.59% of Spanish territory. To get a better idea, picture in your
mind's eye an area bigger than Luxemburg, which has an area of 2,586 km.
The Park is mostly situated in the easternmost part of Huelva province, and partly situated in the south-western
part of Seville province and the north-western part of Cadiz - in an area bounded by the Huelvan coastline, the
Lower Guadalquivir River and the Huelva-Seville corridor. This area encompasses fourteen municipalities
belonging to three different provinces: Almonte, Bollullos Par del Condado, Bonares, Hinojos, Lucena del Puerto,
Moguer, Palos de la Frontera and Rociana del Condado in Huelva; Aznalcázar, Pilas, Puebla del Río, Villamanrique
de la Condesa and Isla Mayor in Seville; and Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Cadiz.
The variety of Doñana's ecosystems and its ecological value, recognized by international agreements and
conventions, have earned it undoubted international prestige as a nature reserve, which has been reflected
through different designations:
National Park (1969)
Biosphere Reserve (1981)
Ramsar Area (1982)
Council of Europe Diploma for Management (1985)
Area of Special Protection for Birds [ZEPA (1988)]
Nature Park (1989)
UNESCO World Heritage Site (1994)
European Charter for Sustainable Tourism [CETS (2006)]
The Doñana Nature Area represents a new and unique land management concept that includes the territories currently
within the Doñana National Park, including its Reserve Areas, and also its Areas of Protection and the Doñana
Nature Park. Some of these areas are located near urban zones and, in some cases, they are surrounded by built-up
tourist areas - agriculture and tourism being the area's main economic activities.
As for its history, we need to go back to the period between the late 13th and the 19th century, when for a very
long time it was a manor, and when it was significant as the Doñana Hunting Ground or, from the 16th century
onwards, the estate of the House of Medina Sidonia-Villafranca (the name Doñana first appears in a document from
1599). It was not until the late 19th and early 20th century that Doñana began to be looked upon as a "place to
conserve" regarded by bourgeois travellers as an area with exceptional landscapes, culminating in its being
designated a National Park in 1969.
Doñana is landscape, beauty, things you don't find anywhere else, history, human activity, forests, salt marshes,
Atlantic Ocean, beaches, dunes ... full of natural treasures and biodiversity. However, the meaning that Doñana
might have for you, the traveller, will depend - without a doubt - on how you perceive this natural wonder, and
how much you know about it. The deeper you delve into its history and natural gems, the better you'll be able to
understand what Doñana has been, and is today - and to contribute, through your responsible attitude, to
conserving one of the most beautiful spots on Earth.
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