Doñana beach route

The route begins in Matalascañas in the “los Palos” area and runs entirely along the virgin beach of Doñana (Doñana National Park) until it reaches “Punta de Malandar” at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, where a barge crosses the mouth to reach the town of Sanlucar de Barrameda.

The 33 km route is quiet and solitary; only interrupted by the occasional tourist SUV.

Along the route you will enjoy the landscape of the beach, mobile dunes and the Atlantic Ocean. The cyclist will come across several fishermen’s ranches (former fishermen’s houses), with three watchtowers, built between the 16th and 17th centuries to warn off pirate incursions and looting, to defend possible threats from the Dutch and English fleets, and to provide water to inshore fishing fleets; These towers were declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1985, within the Monument category. You will also find barracks where the spa towns were developed during the summer seasons and where in some of them we find falcon nests, and you will see bunkers from World War II. In addition, you can enjoy the presence of such interesting birds as the sandpiper, the kite, the avocet, the needle or the Audouin gull.

You have to pedal through the compact sand that the low tide exposes. The higher the coefficient of the tide, the more space there will be between the loose and difficult sands at the head of the beach, and the easy ones at the end of it.

Keep in mind that the tides alternate every 6 hours, and you will have to take advantage of the last 3 hours around low tide. You can consult it by clicking on this link.

The prevailing wind is the westerly wind so it will blow in favor towards Sanlúcar; if you decide to go on a round trip, this is an important factor to take into account as well.

It is certainly a fascinating and quiet route. If you want to know more about recommendations of this route, you have all the information here.

Matalascañas has a wide bike lane that facilitates mobility throughout the urbanization, furthermore it’s an ecological alternative. Although by using the bicycle, reducing emissions and saving energy and fuel is important; it is also healthy, it also keeps with a natural environment as rich as Doñana, and is easy to get to all places in a short time this way.