Los Alcornocales lies in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, next to the Straits of Gibraltar. This privileged area is home to a series of mountain ranges in which the largest cork oak grove or alcornocal in Spain and one of the most important in the world thrives in an excellent state of conservation. Los Alcornocales is home to the following municipalities: Alcala de los Gazules,
Benalup-Casas Viejas, Paterna de Rivera, San Jose del Valle, Medina Sidonia, Jimena de la Frontera, Castellar de la Frontera, Los Barrios and Tarifa.
This particular area of action can be sub-divided into three clearly-defined landscapes, namely the valley of the River Barbate and the Janda marshes, the valley of the River Guadiaro and the marshes of the River Palmones, and, running from north to south between the two, Los Alcornocales Natural Park, the area’s best-known spot and a location of immense environmental and patrimonial value.
The Natural Park and the surrounding areas are home to a number of remarkable archaeological sites from different periods in history. Los Algarbes burial ground, the largest cemetery in the whole of the province in the Bronze Age, can be found at Valdevaqueros cove. Back in the times of Al Andalus civilisation, the area marked the border of the Nazari kingdom of Granada for many years, while Tempul and Castellar castles both stand within the confines of the Natural Park itself. A further three fortresses built in the same period, namely the castles of Jimena de la Frontera, Alcala de los Gazules and Benalup, lie close to the Park boundaries.
The Natural Park is home to a wide variety of features related to the cheese production and transformation processes, many of which are currently in danger of disappearing as a result of the socio-economic changes that have taken place in the area. These include a wealth of farms and ranches, wells, pools, pipes, oil presses, mills (water, wind, and electricity-driven), kilns, pottery workshops and washhouses. The Park, which covers some 170,000 hectares, stands on the western fringes of the Cordillera Betica mountain range and is the third-largest protected natural area in Andalusia. It lies almost entirely within the boundaries of the province of Cadiz, the exception being its north-eastern fringe, which is in the province of Malaga. The combination of its geographical location at the entrance to the straits of Gibraltar and its undulating terrain ensure that the Natural Park’s climate differs significantly from the Mediterranean climate that characterises the rest of the region. Its high rainfall is a consequence of both its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the peculiar layout of its mountain ranges.
The diversity of flora and fauna that prevail here provide what is probably the best example of the biological communities to be found in the Mediterranean area in the remarkable setting of one of Europe’s largest cork oak groves. The heterogeneous environment creates vegetation of great diversity, with other areas sheltering a wide variety of species ranging from gall oaks, heather brushwood, cistuses, dwarf oaks and heath to thyme, brooms, hawthorns, holm oaks, ashes and elms. However, as far as flora is concerned, there is one unique feature that symbolises Los Alcornocales Natural Park, namely Los Canutos, a riverside forest peculiar to these sierras that is characterised by the narrow beds found at the heads of mountain streams and the species of vegetation that thrive here. In many cases, the vegetation stretches beyond the confines of these characteristic gullies to areas where the constant fog creates shadier, damper conditions, leading to the name Bosque de Niebla or Foggy Forest. Notable among the large herbivores that have most successfully adapted to the conditions that prevail in these forests are the roe and common deer, while smaller carnivores include the fox, ichneumon, genet, badger and weasel, which generally thrive on the trophic level comprising small mammals such as the rabbit, garden dormouse, field mouse, vole and shrew.
The otter also continues to play a key role in the food chain of the mountain waters, feeding on the barbel, boga and eel. Birds of prey include the booted and short-toed eagles in summer as well as the more sedentary Bonelli’s eagle, not to mention sparrowhawks, goshawks, buzzards, kestrels, Egyptian vultures and peregrine falcons. The common vulture is also worthy of special mention. At night, it is not uncommon to hear the piercing cry of the little owl or the flute-like song of the eagle, scops and tawny owls, to mention just a few of the nocturnal species to be found here. The Natural Park is home to a variety of activities, namely forestry (charcoal making, bark stripping, thinning, repopulation and forest plantation), harvesting (palm leaves, vines, heather, mushrooms), cattle farming (mainly goats, cows and pigs) and hunting (primarily roe and common deer). The interaction of these different factors and processes, coupled with the effects of management, has produced the picturesque image that now characterises the terrestrial ecosystems of the Natural Park. Its cultural and historical legacy, which includes a multitude of prehistoric remains and other remnants of the cultures of our ancestors, is evident in many corners of the Park, which is a source of livelihood and wealth for the many who still make their living from the exploitation of its agroforestry, cattle farming and hunting resources. It is also a place of leisure and recreation for the numerous inhabitants who live in and around the area.
Asociacion Grupo de Desarrollo Rural Los Alcornocales (Los Alcornocales Rural Development Group Association)
Address: Calle Los Pozos s/n. Old school building
Location: Alcala de los Gazules
Telephone number: 956 41 32 52
E-Mail: gdr@alcornocales.org
Web Site: http://www.alcornocales.org