After offering you interesting information about the airlines that are more or less friendly to animals, today we want to continue knowing rural wonders of our country. Thus, if the other day we approached the amazing region of Las Hurdes in Extremadura, today we want to move to the Tabernas Desert, located in Almería , which is considered the only desert area in all of Europe, offering a truly breathtaking landscape.
Would you like to know the Tabernas Desert in more depth? Well, do not lose detail of what we tell you below! I assure you that you are going to love it!
Scene of hundreds of movies
Its name may not sound too familiar to you, but the truth is that you have seen it thousands of times in the movies or on television. The Tabernas Desert has been the scene of hundreds of movies since the 1950s. Above all, it was used between the 1960s and 1980s to shoot films set in the Wild West . "For a handful of dollars", "Death had a price" or "Lawrence of Arabia" are some of the most famous films that have been shot in this Andalusian desert. But don’t think that every movie shot here was western ! Classics such as "Cleopatra or" Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade "have also been filmed in this beautiful place. We are talking about legendary actors such as Clint Eastwood, Brigitte Bardot, Claudia Cardinale, Sean Connery or Harrisson Ford, among many other illustrious ones who have passed through these lands. And all thanks to its rocky and desert landscape.
The curious landscape
Located north of the city of Almería, specifically between the Sierras de los Filabres and Alhamilla, the Tabernas Desert is made up of gullies crossed by torrential rivers that, in reality, only carry water, mud and stones. This rocky landscape is due, among other things, to the fact that rainfall does not reach 250 mm per year and that the average temperatures are above 17ºC. Due to these conditions, vegetation is sparse and rare, just like in North African deserts. The cruciferous Euzomodendron bourgaeanum stands out.
Special Protection Area for Birds
As for the fauna, rare species can be found, in many cases unique in Europe and the world. Because it is an area rich in birds, the Tabernas Desert was declared a Special Protection Area for Birds . Species such as the king swift, the rock plane or the jackdaw take refuge and nest in the courses of the boulevards or on the walls. It is also possible to find other animals such as the red-tailed lizard, the ocellated lizard, the fox, the rabbit and hedgehogs.
Decorations
As we have just told you, this place served as a setting for the filming of multiple films, as well as for recording different advertising spots. For this reason, it is possible to find rehabilitated decorations, some of them enabled for tourist use. We are talking about OASYS, formerly Mini Hollywood, a theme park where shows starring specialists and horseback riding are offered. Of course, you will also find restaurants and other types of services. The park currently encompasses an area of 30 hectares, a West Village, a swimming pool area for the summer and a Zoological Reserve with 800 species of animals. In addition, there are different entertainment areas, such as the Cinema Museum, located in the «Banco», the Cactus Garden or the Car Museum.
Eager to discover the Tabernas Desert? Then we leave you with our gallery , where you can find more images of this Spanish rural wonder.
