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HUELVA Province

Costa de la Luz

The Costa de la Luz in Huelva, with its fine golden sands and mild Atlantic waters, lies between the rivers Guadiana and Guadaquiver.

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On the frontier between Spain and Portugal and just east of the Guadiana is the town of Ayamonte which has a worthy heritage, most notably in its two fifeteenth century churches of Salvador and San Francisco.
The best beaches are at Punta del Moral and Isla Canela. A really worthwhile trip is to take a boat trip up the Guadiana.

Isla Cristina is a village with a long seafaring tradition and delightful beaches surrounded by protected wetlands. There is also the Tourist Centre of Islantilla, shared with Lepe, which has a wonderful range of hotels and recreation facilities, most notably a lovingly maintained, 27 hole golf course.

Nearer to Huelva city are the beaches of Punta Umbria and El Portil. If the beauty of these beaches is captivating, no less so is the river which separates the town from the wetlands reserve of Odiel – the second most important habitat of its kind in Andalucia, after Doñana.

On the outskirts of Doñana National Park is Mazagón, which has an up-to-date sporting harbour with high standard services. Near by is Matalascañas, a popular tourist centre with many hotels.

One cannot miss on this tour a visit to Doñana, designated as a national park by Spain in 1969 and recognised by UNESCO as of global importance because of its plant and ecosystem diversity. These include: salt marshes, reserves, shifting dunes and underground water lakes. There is a Visitor Centre at Acebuche, just one kilometre from Matalascañas, where one can learn all about the park and its surroundings as well as the 4 x4 guided tours, bird hides and exhibitions.

Huelva Capital

Huelva city has a strong historical link with Spanish Latin America and its ancient central quarter architecture, with narrow streets, reflects this. It also has immense buildings and structures from a 19th century industrial expansion, in stark contrast to crowded homes of the workers’ neighbourhoods.

This expansion was undertaken mainly by the English mining company – Rio Tinto, and it transformed Huelva into one of the most important towns in the south of the country.

The heritage of Huelva also includes archeological sites, like Cabezo; religious architecture such as the Cathedral and San Pedro church; environmental gems like the marshes of Odiel and outstanding monuments such as that of Christopher Columbus.

Tour of Condado

The area known as the Condado del Huelva is in the southeast of the province. The whole area is given over to the cultivation of grapes and the production of wine which is marketed under the “Condado del Huelva” denomination of origin label.

But wine production is not the whole story. There are delightful villages, like Rociana, whose surroundings have special places like “El Calvario”; Bollullos Par del Condado with its hermitages of Señora de las Mercedes and San Juan de la Morañina; Escacena del Campo where the Turdetanos and the Tartessos (circa 1000BC) created a settlement, nowadays known as the Tejada la Vieja burial site; Villalba del Alcor has Roman remains, such as a head of Agripina and the church of San Bartolome – designated a national monument; La Palma de Condado is well known for its wine, as the large number of shops stocking fine liquors and wine demonstrates.

Castillo de Niebla (Foto por Jose Cejudo)

Niebla epitomises the history of the whole province. Here Arabs, Christians and Jews all lived together in one of the principal kingdoms of the Moors. Because of the heritage they left behind, Niebla was declared, in 1982, a national monument, and that makes it well worth a visit. (Visit the Castle).

Trigueros receives many visitors because of its Megalithic constructions which can be viewed at the Dolmen del Soto just off the N435.

The town of Almonte is recognised internationally because of its association with the Romería del Rocío. Every seven years the statue of the Virgin de el Rocio is brought back to the town through the El Chaparral gate after a journey through the ancient forest villages of Cabezudos, Bodegones and El Abalario. Local shops offer activities as walking or horseback tours in the surroundings of Doñana.

Tour of Andevalo

Hermitage in Valverde del Camino (Photo by Jose Cejudo)

On this tour you can enjoy the villages of Valverde del Camino, well known for its shoe and furniture crafts and Calañas where there are Roman amphoras, stone jewellery and other objects, and where you can try hang-gliding or pot-holing in its caves. The quaint Alosno, has its famous “fandango of Alosno” and decidedly baroque architecture as well as being well known for its “corners of steel” in Real Street.

The village of Puebla de Guzman has some very interesting architecture and is also a good place for rock climbing. Sanlucar de Guadiana is a high water river port which gives the Meta territories access to the Atlantic.

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Hotels in the province of Huelva

Tour of Colombina

The notable towns on this tour are Palos de la Frontera and Moguer. In these places there are many exhibits which enable the visitor to appreciate some of the voyages which started here during the last five hundred years. The pioneers set off in their caravels to unknown destinations to try and find a New World.

In Palos de la Frontera one finds the Paraje de La Rabida, the most symbolic site of the tour, where one can visit the Monastery of Santa Maria de la Rabida, the Caravels harbour and the botanical garden of Jose Celestino Mutis.

Moguer is a delightful village with an intriguing atmosphere which captivates most visitors. It has a distinguished heritage, including the 14th century Convent of Santa Clara and the house (now converted into a museum) of the Nobel Prize winner, Juan Ramon Jimenez.

Tour of Sierra de Aracena and the Picos de Aroche

The Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche are in the north of the province where the countryside offers a real contrast, with steep hills, to the rest of the province. It has now been developed as a country park and is well suited to hiking and such activities.

The more important locations in this mountain range are: Alajar, above which rises the magical Peña de Arias mountain; Linares de la Sierra, always a favourite because of the many spectacular views it offers; Higuera de la Sierra has the Caves de las Tobas and the church of San Sebastian; Zufre where one can admire the church of the Purisima Concepcion and the Consistorial house, as well as that of Hernan Ruiz, both to be found in the Plaza, a recognised historical monument.
Santa Olalla de Cala has its Castle; Cañaveral de Leon offers its curious fountain, the Fuente Redonda; Cumbres Mayores is a fortified town with a 13th century Castle, now a national monument. Aroche is a town surrounded by a majestic walled precinct and protected by a 12th century castle, a good place to rest and admire.

Cortegana, provides another castle, this time perfectly preserved. It also has some important churches, like the 16th century San Salvador and is well known for its Medieval Days in August. Fuenteheridos has its Fuente de los doce Caños and Almonaster boasts a 10th century mosque, built above the remains of Visigoth and Roman buildings.

Aracena is at the centre of the park and is well known for its Cerro de Castillo and the parish church which rises above the ruins of an old fortress.

Below the castle hill is a labyrinth of passages full of stalagmites and stalactites in the famous caves of Maravillas.

The pink. Pata Negra: type of top-quality cured ham made from a special breed of pig that has black legs.

And finally, for some, it’s not possible to finish this tour without calling in on Jabugo the centre of the ham trade, popular with carnivors.

Tour of Cuenca Minera

Los Dólmenes de El Pozuelo (Foto por Jose Cejudo)

On this tour are a group of villages which share certain distinctions and common history. Getting to know them will be a real adventure. We start with the road (N435) to Badejoz and the first village we stop at is Zalamea la Real famous for the Dolomites of Pozuelo(bronze age) and, more recently, for its distilleries of aniseed and liquors.

Near by is El Campillo whose urban design is notably English, as it was English companies that developed the mining industry during the last century. Just outside the town is La Moraña, an Arab burial site where one also finds the dolmen of Cantina.

Next we go to the most important place for the development of open cast mining – the Mines of Riotinto. In this region mining has been undertaken for thousands of years – by the Tartessos, Phoenicians and Romans. In the Mineral Museum we can admire Roman and Arab tools which give a good idea how the “mineral basin” was exploited in ancient times.

Our final visit is to Nerva, which is well known for the Torre del Ayuntamiento (Town Hall Tower), but perhaps more seriously, its also known as the cradle of artists. An Artist of the stature of Vasquez Diaz, who has given his name to the local gallery, was born here.
Las Arenillas is an important Roman burial site and the Dolmen de la Lancha – 3rd century BC is worth a visit.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Huelva

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