Amazing Huelva Highlights

For natural and awesome landscapes with great sandy beaches and for some authentic Spanish style, look no further than Huelva. It is the charming and tranquil Andalusia province that offers refreshing vacations in the summer months.

Location

Huelva province is situated in the south of Spain west of Andalusia, between Portugal and Cadiz, Seville and Badajoz provinces. Huelva comprises seventy-nine municipalities that together include a total of 600,000 people.

Huelva has plenty of great beaches and sunshine to offer; it has a wide diversity of intriguing landscapes, such as the Doñana nature reserve, historic architectural monuments and picturesque natural landscapes of the mountains and the sea.

For example, the National Park is one of Europe’s most significant wetland reserves for over 365 species of birds that have been recorded, whether they have resident or migratory status; some are considered to be endangered species. The reserve also functions as a park for guided trips, trekking or horse riding, with museums housing informative facts about the residents and place.

Highlights of Huelva

Near the National Park is the infamous village of El Rocio where Rocieros flock by the thousands every year to pay homage to their saint, the Virgen del Rocio, at the most festive event in Andalucia, the Romeria del Rocio. The festival has evolved between the local pagan and Catholic beliefs, which has created a great hive of festivity during its celebration, presenting a truly spectacular sight with hundreds of pilgrims flocking to this part of the world in eager anticipation to participate.

Huelva was made famous by Christopher Columbus who arrived at the old Palos de la Frontera port before he went on to discover America. Palos now proudly displays replicas of the famous explorer’s ships in the open dock.

One must not miss the spectacular and awesome Sierra de Aracena even though it is not very high for a mountain range, at 1.059 meters. Around Sierra, one will discover more gems in the Andalusia where typical Andalusian homes are found; those white washed villages with chestnut forests all around and home cooked cuisine. These are examples of the natural beauty all around Huelva.

Another unique sight at Huelva is the Rio Tinto Mines that is at Nieblas Village. The Rio Tinto River is named the Red River from the red colored water flowing through the ferrous ore mines. Both the river and the land around can be seen as a beautiful myriad of red, orange, brown, green and yellow as the water runs across the area.

The Rio Tinto Mines are supposedly the world’s oldest mine that was enriched by history, and as legend has it – they were King Solomon’s mines. These mines attracted the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Carthaginians, with the Romans coming in last but not least.

But the Romans abandoned the mines in 1556; they were only re-opened in 1724 by the Spanish.
Due to bad management and inefficiency, the mines were sold to a British consortium in the year 1871. The British saw the potential of these mines and worked at them until they turned into a profitable commercial entity to and became the world’s most significant sources of sulfur and copper.