Guardamar dunes and pine forest
- Driving time
- About 25 minutes by car
- Area
- Vega Baja
- Sight
The Dunas de Guardamar are high dunes with a pine forest of about 800 hectares along the coast, and they are about a 25 minute drive from Lago Rosa Apartment.
This forest is man-made. In the late nineteenth century the dunes were creeping inland two to eight metres a year, towards Guardamar. On 2 December 1897 a royal order approved a plan to hold them in place, and forestry engineer Francisco Mira began planting around 1900. Over four decades about 600,000 trees went in: pines, palms, cypresses and eucalyptus.
You can still see the result: 700 to 800 hectares of woodland, known as la pinada, with a nursery and old forestry buildings. Since 1904 Guardamar has even celebrated a Tree Festival on 31 January. The forest is now a protected European nature site. Its shady paths are pleasant even on hot days, and wooden boardwalks take you through the sand to Los Viveros beach.
Our tip: start here
The main entrance is on Calle Ingeniero Mira, opposite the shady Parque Reina Sofía. Other entrances are on Avenida de los Pinos, Calle Colón and Calle Dunas.
With a wheelchair or buggy
One of the wooden boardwalks to Los Viveros is wheelchair-friendly, so it also works with a buggy.
Make a Sunday of it
The Lemon Tree Market is on Sundays in the same municipality. Afterwards you can walk here in the cool.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there a forest on the Guardamar dunes?
It was planted around 1900 to stop the advancing dunes from burying the town.
Is walking in the pinada free?
Yes, it is open woodland with several entrances, and the paths are freely accessible.
Can you walk through to the beach?
Yes, wooden paths lead from the forest to Los Viveros beach.
