Salt flats and flamingos in Santa PolaSalt flats and flamingos in Santa Pola

A natural park made by salt

The Parque Natural de las Salinas de Santa Pola covers 2,470 hectares along the bay and has been protected since 1988. It is a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention and a special protection area for birds. Together with El Hondo it was once part of a large lagoon, the old Albufera of Elche.

The salt works opened in 1890 and are still running. Seawater flows through a chain of shallow pans and slowly evaporates, and because the water keeps moving all year, the pans never dry out. The birds feed on the small fish and invertebrates that come in with the sea, which is why the park depends on salt production continuing.

Flamingos and other birds

Flamingos are the stars of the park, sometimes up to 8,000 at once. You will also see avocets, black-winged stilts, egrets, gulls, terns and plovers, and with luck shelducks and the rare marbled duck, which nests in the park and is very hard to find anywhere else in Europe. Marsh harriers are also seen here. Which birds you see, and how many, depends on the season.

Salt Museum and visitor centre

The visitor centre shares an old salt factory with the Museo de la Sal on Avenida Zaragoza 45. Inside you learn how salt is harvested and how the park works; outside, a 1 km circular path of boardwalk and firm ground goes around a lagoon with four viewpoints, adapted for wheelchairs.

It is open every day, including weekends and holidays, from 9:00 to 14:00 (closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and on 1 and 6 January), and entry is free. From the apartment it is a 20-minute walk (1.6 km).

The Tamarit tower viewpoint

For the classic picture, drive 5 km along the N-332 towards Torrevieja (under 10 minutes) to the rest area next to the Torre del Tamarit, a 16th-century watchtower that stands in one of the lagoons. Flamingos often feed close by, and the tourist office recommends it for the sunset, when hundreds of birds are in the air.

Two walking trails

The park has two signposted trails, both easy and open every day. Neither is suitable for bikes, and cycling is not allowed on the boardwalk at the visitor centre.

• Red route, Playa de Tamarit: 3 km, about 1.5 hours. It starts where the promenade of Playa Lisa ends, a 35-minute walk (2.5 km) from the apartment, and passes the salt mountains, an old salt jetty and the beach.
• Yellow route, El Pinet: 3.8 km, about 2 hours 15 minutes, in the south of the park. It follows old salt pans full of flamingos and avocets, then crosses the dunes to the beach. The car park at the start is 11 km away, about 15 minutes by car.

Tips for your visit

• Bring binoculars: the birds are often in the middle of the pans.
• Go early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the light is soft and it is cooler. In summer there is very little shade, so take water and a hat.
• Combine the morning with the visitor centre, which closes at 14:00, and come back to the Tamarit tower for the sunset.
• Stay on the paths, keep your voice down and keep your distance from the birds.