Camping in Almería: desert, unspoilt coves and the sunniest weather in Europe
Almería is the province with the most hours of sunshine per year in Spain and one of the most surprising for visitors coming for the first time. Its most emblematic stretch of coast is the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, a volcanic landscape of submarine origin that has produced hard-to-reach coves, turquoise waters and protected seabeds where Neptune grass grows with exceptional density. Beaches such as Los Muertos, Mónsul, Los Genoveses and Cala del Plomo are among the best known on the Spanish Mediterranean for their combination of natural beauty and low human impact. The village of San José, inside the Natural Park, is the most common base for exploring the Cabo de Gata coastline on foot, by bike or by kayak.
The interior of the province has a radically different character. The Tabernas Desert, in the geographical centre of the province, is the only true desert in western Europe, with dry riverbeds, gullies and sparse vegetation reminiscent of southern Arizona or northern Mexico. This landscape served as the natural setting for dozens of film productions during the 1960s and 1970s, and it remains a destination of interest for fans of spaghetti westerns and landscape photography. The badlands of Almería, with their eroded clay formations in shades of ochre and grey, are among the most geologically distinctive corners of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Almerian Alpujarra, the eastern stretch of the region it shares with Granada, offers a completely different side. White villages perched on mountain slopes such as Laujar de Andarax, Paterna del Río and Canjáyar preserve a tranquillity and a flat-roofed architecture that recalls North Africa. Trails run along these slopes between almond trees, olive groves and irrigated vegetable gardens fed by the snows of Sierra Nevada. The contrast between the dry heat of the coast and the cool air of the mountains makes Almería a province with two equally appealing tourist faces.
Almería's cuisine has a personality of its own. The red prawns of Garrucha and Carboneras are recognised throughout Spain as a product of the highest quality. Gurullos with rabbit, Almerian migas, ajo colorao and the produce of the Níjar market gardens are part of a cuisine of humble origins that surprises with its flavour. Going camping in Almería, whether in a tent beside a cove in Cabo de Gata, in a caravan inland or in a bungalow near the Tabernas Desert, is an experience that combines preserved nature, frontier culture and quality food in a province that is still far from overcrowded.
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