The badlands
Gullies and cliffs.
Ziegler175 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Colin C Wheeler — CC BY-SA 3.0 es · Pablo — CC BY 2.0 · Schumi4ever — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sylwia Toboła — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Urci dream — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Tabernas Desert lies in the interior of Almería province in south-eastern Spain, about 30 km north of the city of Almería by road and 18 km in a straight line. It is described as the only desert in Europe, as most of its area has a desert climate. It sits between the Sierra de los Filabres to the north and the Sierra Alhamilla to the south, which block moisture from the sea. Over thousands of years, rare rains and flash floods have carved its clay and limestone hills into a landscape of gullies, cliffs and dry riverbeds known as badlands. It is a nature reserve of about 280 square kilometres, home to plants and animals adapted to drought. Since the 1960s the desert has been famous as a location for Western films, because of its likeness to the deserts of North America. Some of the old film sets still stand and have become Wild West theme parks visited by tourists. The desert can be seen from the roads that cross it and from viewpoints along the motorway, and the reserve is free to enter, while the film towns charge admission. Summers are very hot, so spring and autumn are the best times to visit, and bring water and sun protection.
Gullies and cliffs.
Old movie sets.
Along the motorway.
Tabernas, Almería, Spain
The reserve is free; the film towns are paid.
Spring and autumn.