Natural Park of La Mata and Torrevieja Lagoons

The Parque Natural de las Lagunas de La Mata y Torrevieja covers 3,743 hectares in the south of Alicante province, between the municipalities of Torrevieja, Los Montesinos and Guardamar del Segura. It consists of two large salt lagoons connected by an artificial canal known as the Acequión: the Laguna de Torrevieja, roughly 1,400 hectares with pink-hued water caused by the bacterium Halobacterium and the crustacean Artemia salina, and the Laguna de La Mata, around 700 hectares, with darker water and greater average depth. Together they form the second-largest wetland in the Valencian Community, after the Albufera de Valencia.

Salt extraction has shaped this landscape for centuries. The Torrevieja salt works, industrially exploited since 1803, produce around 600,000 tonnes of salt per year, making them the largest in Europe by output and the second-largest in the world. The white mounds of stacked salt beside the southern lagoon are visible from several kilometres away and form part of the area's visual profile. The air carries a persistent saline smell that blends with the scent of the halophilic vegetation lining the shores: glassworts, seablites and tamarisks that give the lagoon margins a grey-green hue.

For birdwatching, the park is a key point on the western Mediterranean migratory route. The Laguna de La Mata supports one of the most stable greater flamingo colonies in south-eastern Spain, with numbers fluctuating between 2,000 and 8,000 individuals depending on the season. Winter brings shelduck, northern shoveler and pied avocet. In spring and autumn, migration delivers ringed plovers, dunlins and black terns that use the shores as resting areas. The La Mata Interpretation Centre, at the northern end of the lagoon, provides information materials and a bird observatory with free-use telescopes.

Walking routes follow the perimeter of both lagoons along flat, accessible paths. The full circuit of the Laguna de La Mata is 9.5 km, with no elevation change, suitable for families with children and wheelchair-accessible on some stretches. The Acequión promenade connects both lagoons in 2 km and offers close views of the salt-works infrastructure. For mud baths, the south-eastern shore of the Laguna de Torrevieja is the most frequented: the saline mud, rich in minerals and magnesium chloride, is traditionally used as a skin and joint treatment, though no official health regulation endorses these uses. Park access is free year-round, with car parks at the Interpretation Centre and the Acequión area.

The relationship between Torrevieja and its lagoons extends beyond economics. The municipality, with around 80,000 registered residents that multiply in summer due to residential tourism, has grown literally around the salt works. The natural park acts as a green lung for a heavily urbanised coastal strip: the lagoons regulate ambient humidity and generate local breezes that moderate summer temperatures. For those staying on the coast, the park is less than 10 minutes by car from central Torrevieja and offers a quiet counterpoint to beach crowds.