Beautiful Walking Holidays of La Manga

When you take your Spanish holiday in La Manga, be sure to make time for peaceful and relaxing walks through the surrounding countryside. Venturing out for a walk from your apartment, luxury resort or private villa is a great way to experience the sites and culture. Treat yourself to an up-close-and-personal look at this beautiful area of Spain.

A great place to walk is the Calblanque Nature Reserve. This regional park received protected status in 1987 and received classification as a nature reserve in 1992. The walking area includes lovely beaches, hills, cliffs and salt flats. For those who enjoy leisurely waterside walks, Calblanque has amazing beaches. The nature reserve offers visitors the opportunity to see various forms of wildlife and even has an area designated for camping.

North of Calblanque Nature Reserve is Mar Menor and a salt lake that provides a great background for easy walking in a peaceful environment. The coastal region of La Manga is great for both slow-paced, contemplative walks and athletic excursions that test your endurance. This area has a national trail that runs behind a resort complex. The trail goes through the white, sandy cove areas that dot the coastal expanse.

Close to La Manga and Mar Menor is the Costa Calida region at the southern portion of Costa Blanca. Much of the coastline in this region is not available for development due to its protected status. For walkers and hikers, it offers an unadulterated natural habitat to explore. This area of Spain has a climate that allows for year-round walking. In the summer, you can enjoy comfortable excursions on foot as you head up to higher and cooler elevations to escape the heat.

What's great about walking in Spain is that you can choose from different types of walks. You can enjoy a short, beach walk or challenge yourself with a rough-terrain walk up mountainsides and hills. You can go on a day-long walking tour or just venture out for an hour or two. The circular walks along trails allow you to get a broad overview of an entire area.

Close to the La Manga resorts is the Sierra de Espuna National Park. This park has the Sierra de Espuna Mountain, which is more than 5,200 feet high. Its forest offers great trails for walking and hiking. It is also an area suitable for rock climbing and horseback riding. The forest covering also makes the park great for walking in the hot summer months, as it provides an escape into a cooler area. The walking paths in this national park allow visitors to traverse across ridges and take in sweeping views of the entire countryside.

Another walking area you can try near La Manga is the Ascent of the La Fuente Hillock. This is an easy climb of about three kilometers and takes less than an hour to complete. You begin this ascent from the town of Los Belones, which is near the Sierra de Espuna National Park. Once you reach the summit, you get a fantastic view of the region and the saltwater lake. A view of La Manga is breathtaking from here, as is the view of the small islands of Cabo de Palos. These islands were formed by long-ago volcanic activity.

A Spanish holiday in La Manga affords one the opportunity to do many things. When you want to get in some physical activity, you can go out and explore the many walking and hiking trails. With its wonderful beaches and coastline, it truly is Spanish beauty at its most natural.