Spain – Ebro Delta National Park (En)
Our decision to visit the Ebro Delta National Park was thanks to our friend María José, who told us it was beautiful and that she had loved it. I have to say, we loved it. It’s a place to see a unique landscape, with reedbeds, rushes, rice paddies, and much more. If you like birds, there are over 300 species, including flamingos and herons.
Where to stay
We stayed at the Amposta Camper Area (40.659168, 0.675354, long, lat), managed by the La Casa de Fusta Restaurant. The area is huge, and there’s room for everyone. The largest spaces are on the right. It costs €5 to fill and empty the water tanks. They open at 10:00 AM if you need to fill and empty them, and at that time you can also get drinking water and empty the chemical toilet. There are public toilets and gas canisters for sale. You can also rent bicycles. There’s a kiosk selling drinks and snacks, with a terrace. The restaurant has a bar where you can buy bread. The restaurant specialises in rice dishes, as there are rice paddies in the natural park. The place is beautiful, full of amazing birds. I highly recommend visiting the park and having lunch at the restaurant.
What to see
Since we were next to La Casa de Fusta, it was the first place we visited. It’s one of the most emblematic buildings in the Delta. The facilities house a permanent exhibition dedicated to the lagoons of the Ebro Delta, as well as a collection of birds representative of this wetland area. We visited the farm shop.
Then we strolled through the nature park, which features diverse natural environments: a river, a lagoon, a riparian forest, a spring, and rice paddies. We saw many kinds of birds, including flamingos, little herons, and others whose names we didn’t know.
On the way back from our walk, we climbed up to the Casa de Fusta viewpoint, where you can admire the Encanyissada lagoon, the largest in the Delta, which has been declared a Hunting Reserve. Its origins date back to the 6th-10th centuries.
The next day, we went to the restaurant to try one of their typical rice dishes. We had a few drinks on the sunny terrace and decided to try the rice seixat l’Estany, a rice dish from the Ebro Delta with crab, cuttlefish, prawns, onion, and pepper. It was completely different from what we expected, unlike anything we’d ever tasted before. We liked it, but it wasn’t enough for Ben; he was still hungry. The rice dish costs 13 euros per person, which is very reasonable. When we finished, they gave us a free box of local rice and a small bottle of olive oil. I recommend going to the restaurant and trying one of their rice dishes.
Our next stop is Vinyols i els Arcs, a town in the province of Tarragona, known for its rich history and gastronomy. From there, we could also visit Cambrils, a coastal tourist town. You’ll be able to see all of this in upcoming blog posts.
