Laguna de Gallocanta

Laguna de Gallocanta lies between the provinces of Zaragoza and Teruel, in the endorheic basin of the sierra bearing the same name, at 1,000 metres altitude on the Aragonese plateau. Covering over 14 km², it is the largest saline wetland on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most significant in western Europe. The lagoon occupies 1,924 hectares, stretching 7 km long and 2 km wide, surrounded by cereal fields, ecologically valuable saline meadows and gentle hills that shape a steppe landscape where the sky seems to take up more space than the land. This is a territory of long horizons, constant wind and silences broken only by birdsong.

Gallocanta's defining feature is the concentration of common cranes (Grus grus) during their annual migration between northern Europe and Africa. Almost the entire western crane population — between 20,000 and 80,000 birds depending on the year and season — uses the lagoon as a resting area. Arrivals take place from mid-October to mid-December, and the spring departure runs from February to early March. At dawn, the flocks lift off from the lagoon towards the surrounding cereal fields with a trumpeting sound audible for kilometres; at dusk, their return in orderly formations silhouettes against the red western sky.

Beyond the cranes, the lagoon supports over 220 bird species recorded throughout the year. Great bustards (Otis tarda) roam the surrounding steppe fields and represent one of Aragon's most stable populations. Little bustard, stone-curlew, pin-tailed sandgrouse and Dupont's lark — the last one endangered — inhabit the dry grasslands and esparto scrub around the lagoon basin. At the Aguanares, Ojos, Reguera and Cañizar observatories, distributed around the lagoon with free access, birdwatching is possible year-round without a hide, though several photographic hides allow close-range sessions for 300-600 mm lenses.

The Gallocanta area offers a slow, contemplative tourism experience. The villages of Gallocanta, Tornos, Bello, Berrueco and Las Cuerlas preserve rural Aragonese stone-and-rammed-earth architecture with small permanent populations. The lagoon interpretation centre in Bello provides ornithological route maps and an updated migration calendar. Local rural lodgings organise early-morning crane departures and guided sunset sessions with telescopes. For photographers, the best light arrives at dawn and dusk with the sun behind you along the southern shore; November to February concentrates peak migration activity and the clearest skies for landscape and astrophotography.