The Bardenas Reales are known as the desert of the north, and, due to their peculiarity, they are an almost obligatory visit when you want to get to know Navarre. The dictionary defines desert as: "Sandy or stony territory, which due to the almost total lack of rain lacks vegetation or has very little vegetation." According to this definition, the Bardenas Reales is not a desert but an arid area, since in the driest areas more than 300 liters per square meter per year are exceeded; Half of its surface is cultivated and shepherds guide their flocks throughout its territory. But it also has another meaning, “Desert: unpopulated place.” Here the definition fits more, since in the 41.845 hectares that make up the Bardenas natural park there are no towns. The important thing, in any case, is that it is a surprising landscape, shaped by erosion, time and the hand of man, and a living ecosystem that we must know how to care for and respect when we enter it.
The best way to get to know the Bardenas Reales is by walking along its roads and trails, and among the many to choose from, we have selected, as the most spectacular, those of Piskerra, Castildetierra and El Fraile. Below we indicate some of the most notable elements of the Bardenas Reales:
HEAD OF THE CURTAINS
Magnificent watchtower over the Bardena Blanca and very close to Castildetierra, with the added peculiarity that a long staircase of 219 steps allows us to ascend to its summit.
BARDENERAS CABINS
In La Bardena there are numerous corrals and cabins that served as shelter for shepherds and farmers. Simple constructions where the traditional shepherd's migas were cooked in the heat of a fire, made with stale bread, lamb suet, water, garlic and salt.
CASTILDETERRA
This small eroded head has been photographed and filmed a thousand times Read more
LA BLANCA VIEWPOINT
It includes the area of Piskerra and El Rallón, and is the most characteristic and spectacular landscape of the Bardenas Reales. Ravines, hills and hills of cut forts make up a setting that seems straight out of a Wild West movie.
THE BLACK BARDENA
The southern part of Bardena is generally less known. That is why the contrast of its Aleppo pine forests and abundant shrubby undergrowth, well preserved and typically Mediterranean in character, is surprising.
LAND OF CASTLES
La Bardena was a border territory of the Kingdom of Navarra, first with the Muslims and later with the Kingdom of Castile and Aragon. That is why several castles or surveillance watchtowers were built such as Aguilar, Sanchicorrota, La Estaca, Mirapex, Peñaflor and El Fraile.
