What is the largest desert in Europe

The deserts are magical places full of legends, their hardness and their great difference with everything we know make us feel attracted to them and, in turn, we keep a certain fear. We all have in mind the great deserts of the world, images that refer us immediately to Africa, America or Australia, but did you know that in Europe you can also walk through a desert?

If you want to know which is the biggest desert in Europe in the next article, we will discover it, it will surprise you!

The only desert in Europe

Seeing this image we could think that we are in the Valley of the North American Death, that red desert where so many film duels met their end, but if we thought this we would be very wrong. This breathtaking landscape belongs to the largest desert in Europe, which happens to be precisely in Spain. Its enormous red and golden beauty makes it one of the most interesting landscapes of the Iberian geography.

It consists of more than forty-two thousand hectares of semi-desert land (completely desert in many places), and has been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. And now, do you want to know where it is? The largest desert in Europe are the Bárdenas Reales, located in the province of Navarra.

In fact, the Bárdenas Reales is not only that they are the largest desert in Europe, but in fact there is no other area of ​​the continent that can be considered desert. That is, this is the only desert in Europe . Beyond deserts as such, in the old continent we can find different semi-arid zones known as wastelands, wastelands or páramos, grasslands steppes and other areas with very little precipitation and low population density.

History of the Royal Bárdenas

This incredible place has been practically uninhabited since prehistoric times, and its aridity prevented even Muslims from entering the Kingdom of Navarre. The erosion of its soils, rich in soft materials such as clays and plaster, has generated the curious "natural sculptures" that mark it. Without going any further, the one that you can see in the photo and that bears the name Cabezo de Castildetierra. The national filmmakers have not ignored this photogenic place, which has appeared in films such as "Airbag, " by Juanma Bajo Ulloa or "Acción Mutante, " by Álex de la Iglesia.

Other areas of interest

One of the most interesting attractions are the many conveniently signposted routes that can be crossed by the Bárdenas Reales. There is also the possibility of carrying out guided tours and getting to know all the legends of the place through the Bárdenas Reales Information Center. Curiously, a few kilometers from this desert is Tudela, whose fields are a paradigm of fertility and offer the best of the garden. That is why a visit to this place can be a very good way to admire the diversity of our planet. And to end with the charms of this fantastic area, we can not stop visiting a nearby wetland: Laguna de Pitillas, Protected Natural Reserve and temporary home of many migratory birds. A perfect place for all lovers of nature and birds.