Cristina Hodgson
THE ‘Ventana del Visitante De Los Espacios Naturales‘ (Visitor’s Window) initiative is offering a series of virtual tours of Andalucia’s nature trails to enjoy from the comfort of your own sofa.
Virtually walk through the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park or visit the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra Natural Reserve without breaking lockdown restrictions which still prohibit travelling through provinces.
This is what Andalucia proposes with its ‘virtual window’, which allows you to visit natural areas in the region without leaving your home.
The initiative offers a series of virtual tours as well as a host of photos and information on each trial.
The Ventana del Visitante covers all the national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves and protected landscapes in Andalucia.
The virtual routes, compatible for mobile devices and virtual reality glasses, are explanatory videos by environmental technicians who offer detailed information on numerous points of interest on each of the trails.
The eight tours, one from each province, listed on the ‘Suggestions of the month’ section of the website ‘Ventana del Visitante De Los Espacios Naturales‘ are as follows:
- Malaga: The virtual route takes place in the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra Natural Reserve. The route takes the visitor along one of the paths of Malaga’s lagoon, the Laguneto.
- Almería: This visit offers a walk through the El Abardinal Botanical Garden, located in the mining town of Rodalquilar (Níjar), which covers nine hectares and where some endangered plant species from Almería are preserved.
- Granada: Enjoy the Sierra de Baza Natural Park by walking through the Narvaez trail. Along its 1.2 km trail, this virtual walk collects information about the trees and small birds in the environment, among other interesting data.
- Jaén: Walk through the Mata Bejid Visitors’ Centre and the El Peralejo trail in Sierra Mágina Natural Park, located in the municipality of Cambil. This path is 2.3 kilometres long and runs through a representative Mediterranean forest where holm oaks, Aleppo pines and junipers predominate.
- Cordoba: Discover the Sierra de Cardeña y Montoro Natural Park where the Iberian lynx is the protagonist.
- Sevilla: Enjoy a virtual tour through the Sierra Norte Natural Park. This 2.7-kilometre-long trail brings together industrial archaeology and geological uniqueness.
- Cadiz: The Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park is the star of the virtual tour in the Province of Capiz. Located next to the beach of Camposoto (San Fernando), the centre of this natural park is exemplary in terms of sustainability and a great starting point to discover a privileged enclave of Andalucia for its biodiversity.
- Huelva: This virtual tour runs through the Marismas del Odiel Natural Park, one of the most thriving marshland systems in all of Andalucia, with an extraordinary presence of flamingos.
