Our excursion to Doñana will start from Seville in the company of one of our specialized guides to enjoy a wonderful day of nature.
Our first stop will be the Seville town of Puebla del Río, at the door of the Doñana marshes. Completely crossed by the Guadalquivir River in this municipality we find one of the best preserved olive groves in the area, the Dehesa de Abajo. This place is home to the largest colony of white storks in Europe that take advantage of the treetops and the nearby La Rianzuela lagoon to nest. The small elevation of this dehesa above the marsh is ideal for observing hundreds of birds in their natural habitat and the flat landscape of the marsh.
“La Dehesa de Abajo in the Doñana region, is home to the largest colony of white storks in Europe and a well preserved forest of wild olive trees”
Each year the marshes provide shelter to approximately 200,000 individuals of more than 300 different bird species, making this the most important natural area on the European continent. The area is also the largest rice field in Spain in terms of planted area, and the one with the highest productivity thanks to the high summer temperatures and the water available in its surroundings thanks to the Guadalquivir. Its peculiar geography and landscape has been the scene of famous films such as the award-winning film Isla Mínima.
Leaving the rice fields behind, we will continue our tour until we reach the northern area of ​​the Doñana National Park, and stop to visit the village of El Rocío, famous throughout the country for its pilgrimage. A village evocative of other times in Andalusia where a typical Andalusian atmosphere of past centuries is recreated, as if it were a journey back in time with its sandy streets crossed by horses and people on foot.
The excursion will travel through the village until it reaches the famous Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Rocío, in its popular Ermita, where more than a million people gather every year to participate in one of the most important religious pilgrimages on the planet.
“The village of El Rocío receives more than one million visitors every year during the celebration of the pilgrimage”
After visiting the village of El Rocío we will visit the Acebron Palace next to the Arroyo de la Rocina and there we will be able to discover another of Doñana's ecosystems: the forest in gallery. We will make a circular hiking route while interpreting animal tracks and we will know some endemic plant species of this natural environment. At the end of this path, and a short break for lunch tasting the typical gastronomy of the area, we will go to the next ecosystem of our visit: the beach.
With more than 30 kilometers, Doñana beach is the longest virgin beach in Spain, stretching from the famous town of Matalascañas to the mouth of the Guadalquivir River off the coast of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. We will know in a small tour, its peculiar mobile dunes where we will be able to observe flora and fauna characteristic of this ecosystem. Also, if the weather is good, you will be able to enjoy a refreshing bath that will be very rewarding. Don't forget to bring your bathing clothes if you visit us in summer!
In the middle of the afternoon we will start our return to Seville, crossing in our 4×4, the wooded area of ​​the Doñana National Park, in order to see some of the large mammals that inhabit it such as the deer, the fox or the wild boar, and try to see the icon of the park; the famous Iberian lynx.
Remember also that we do two day tours from Seville to Doñana National Park with one night's accommodation included and that this tour is available to be taken privately with anyone you wish.