Landscape of Donana National Park in Huelva, Andalusia, Spain.

© Wirestock/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Parque Nacional de Doñana

Andalucía


Established in 1969, this 54,251-hectare national park is one of Europe's largest and most important, sheltering a huge variety of flora and fauna. The park's vast wetlands are home to flamingos, herons and other birds in summer, while also serving as a wintering ground for half a million migrating ducks, geese and other waterfowl. The park encompasses a wide array of additional habitats, including beaches, dunes and woodlands, offering protection to deer, wild boar and the elusive Iberian lynx.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Andalucía attractions

1. Playa de Matalascañas

6.9 MILES

Matalascañas's long sandy beach stretches for 4km along the south edge of town, merging at either end into the wilder beaches of Parque Nacional de Doñana…

2. Parque Natural de Doñana

7.86 MILES

Serving as a buffer zone around Parque Nacional de Doñana, the 68,236-hectare Parque Natural de Doñana is less strictly protected than the national park,…

3. Parque Dunar

8.2 MILES

On the western edge of Matalascañas, the Parque Dunar is a 1.3-sq-km expanse of high, pine-covered dunes laced with a maze of sandy pathways and boardwalk…

4. Ermita del Rocío

8.3 MILES

A striking splash of white at the heart of the town, the Ermita del Rocío was built in its present form in 1964. This is the permanent home of the…

5. Bodegas Hidalgo–La Gitana

16.98 MILES

Now run by the eighth generation, family-owned 1792-founded Bodegas Hidalgo still produces the famed La Gitana manzanillas that made its name, along with…

6. Palacio de los Guzmán

17.24 MILES

Just off the old town's Calle Caballeros, this rambling palace was the home of the Duques de Medina Sidonia, the aristocratic family that once owned more…

7. Castillo de Santiago

17.25 MILES

Surrounded by Barbadillo bodegas, Sanlúcar’s restored 15th-century castle has sprawling views across the Guadalquivir delta from its hexagonal Torre del…

8. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la O

17.26 MILES

Fronting Calle Caballeros, this medieval church stands out among Sanlúcar’s many others for its elaborate 1360s Gothic-Mudéjar portal and its rich…