Mototourism

This is a commercial wharf built by the Rio Tinto company to load material from local mines owned by the Rio Tinto Company Limited. Located on the River Odiel, in the city of Huelva, Spain, it is popularly known as the “Muelle de Riotinto” or “Muelle del Tinto”, taking part of the name of the company that built it. Today, it has fallen into disuse, but it can be used for thinking or fishing. It was declared a “Bien de Interés Cultural” (placed of cultural interest) in 2003.

The British presence during 19th and 20th centuries, attracted by mining in the province, has left and interesting legacy in the capital of Huelva. The Casa Colón Conference Centre (former Hotel Colón), the Queen Victoria Quarter, the Rioting Company Wharf, the Tharsis Pier and Seville Station are the greatest exponents of this legacy, as well as its football club, Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, the oldest club in Spanish football, whose museum can be visited at the Nuevo Colombino stadium.

Built at the end of the Middle Ages to defend the territory destined for centuries to be the ‘River Frontier’ of the Lower Guadiana, it was a witness to centuries of border struggles with Portugal. In addition, after the guided visit to the Castle, you can enjoy the adventure of crossing the river and the border to Alcoutim, on the Portuguese shore, by launching yourself across its zip line.

Enjoy the breath-taking views of the Corta Atalaya and discover what was once the largest open pit mine in Europe. Dedicated mainly to the extraction of copper, it was the most ambitious project of the Rio Tinto Company. At the ‘Ernest Lluch’ Minas de Rio Tinto Mining Museum, you can gain an in-depth knowledge of over 5,000 years of mining history in the region, and then travel on board restored locomotives and wagons along the old tracks for an impressive experience.

Located in the town of Trigueros, it is one of the most important megalithic monuments of recent prehistory in Europe. Dated between 3,000 and 2,500 BC, its pigments and engravings from a graphic programme that constitutes a narrative of complex readings and interpretations, becoming one of the most striking examples of the Neolithic period in southern Spain.

Located at the confluence of the mouths of the Tinto and Odiel rivers, 2 km from the capital, this marsh complex serves as a nesting place for thousands of bird species and is of the main birdwatching sites in Europe. Declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, one of its main enclaves is the Island of Enmedio, which is home to one of Europe’s largest breeding colonies of the spoonbill, an endangered species.

The Huelva coastline has over 120 km of endless, fine, soft, golden, almost white sandy beaches, caressed by the salt and air from the Atlantic. It’s tradition and history permeate the character of its people, sailors and fishermen. From the mouth of the Guadiana to the Guadalquivir, in the heart of Doñana, the Huelva Coast has extensive beaches lined by green pine forests.

The bridge over the Tinto river and numerous vestiges still remain from the old Roman Ilipula. The walls of Niebla owe their current style to the Almohad dynasty, although there are remains of other periods: the Tartessos, Romans and Muslims. Also worth noting is the Castle of the Guzmans, built on the old Arab citadel after the Reconquest. Inside the walled enclosure, the Chapel of San Martín and the Church of Santa María de la Granada, an old Muslim mosque from the 10th/11th centuries, are particularly striking.

El Rocío is a small village in the municipality of Almonte, Huelva, located 15 km from Matalascañas, and is accessed by a path borders the Doñana National Park. A village of unparalleled beauty which offers unbeatable views. It is an area of small white houses that surround the Hermitage of the Virgen del Rocío, a place of religious fervor and pilgrimage which, during the Romería del Rocío, receives more a million visitors.

The Doñana Natural Area is made up the Doñana National Park and the Doñana Natural Park. It is the largest ecological reserve in Europe and hosts a unique biodiversity of emblematic species such as the Iberian lynx and the imperial eagle, today in danger of extinction. Doñana plays host to marshes, lagoons and streams, reserves and pine forests, rivulets and shores, dunes, beaches and spectacular cliffs. Among its unique landscapes is the moving dune system that runs between Matalascañas and the mouth of the Guadalquivir.

The wine region that currently provides the Denominations of Origin “Condado de Huelva” and “Vinagre del Condado de Huelva” is spread over an extensive region located southeast of Huelva province, covering 18 municipalities. A total of 13 wineries are part of this route, where you can discover the details of the entire process for making the wines that formed part of the Discovery of America.

Moguer pays homage to its Nobel Laureate for Literature, Juan Ramón Jiménez, in every corner of the town. Here you can visit the Casa Natal (his birthplace) and the Zenobia and Juan Ramón House Museum; the main centres for immersing yourself in the life and world of the universal poet. The house on Calle Aceña, Fuentepiña and the literary route through Moguer are also of interest.

This is a Franciscan-Gothic-Mudejar style monastery built between the 14th and 15th centuries. Christopher Columbus stayed here while making his preparations before leaving for the New World. This is the starting point for the Columbian Places route, which includes the municipalities of Palos de la Frontera, with St George’s church (iglesia de San Jorge) as its landmark monument, Fontanilla and Moguer, where you can visit the Santa Clara Monastery.

Located in the enclave of La Rábida, the Muelle de las Carabelas Museum (Caravel Dock Museum) hosts reproductions of La Niña, La Pinta and La Santa María; built in 1992 to celebrate the 5th Centennial of the Discovery of America. As well as the replicas of the boats, its main tourist attraction, the museum has an interpretation centre, the mediaeval quarter and the Isla del Encuentro (Encounter Island), referring to the first island where Christopher Columbus landed on the October 12th, 1492. .

The great extension of its lakes, abundance and variety of formations and its length make this underground complex an impressive, spectacularly beautiful location. Discovered at the end of the 19th century, it was in 1914 when it was opened to the public as the first tourist cave in Spain. Containing stalactites, stalagmites, columns, gours, lava formations, pisoliths, offsets, curtains… A whole world that the persistence of water, stone and time have shaped for the human imagination to feel the exact dimension of nature.

In the heart of the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche you will find endless aromas and flavors that you can savor while enjoying this paradise. Among the thousand stars of its sky, we find one that shines with its own light: Jabugo, a cured ham with a Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), previously known as Huelva Ham. The famous meat of our Iberian pigs, raised in the mountains, is the star attraction of many of the delicacies you can taste in every corner of our mountain range.

The Mosque was built at the end of the 9th century on the remains of an ancient Visigoth basilica. Also worth seeing are the Parish Church of San Martin (14th century); the unique Portada del Perdón (16th century), an invaluable example of Portuguese Manueline art; the ruins of the San Sebastián Hermitage (18th century). On the outskirts of Almonaster, is the historic location of Santa Eulalia, made up of the Hermitage (15th century), the bull ring (17th century) and the Roman archaeological site (1st century).

The ‘Galician Band’ is the name by which the line of defensive constructions in the Sierra de Huelva is known; created by the Christian kings in the 12th century as protection against the Muslims. It has left some interesting samples of military architecture, such as the Cortegana Castle and the fortresses at Cumbres Mayores, Aracena, Aroche, Cala, Santa Olalla del Cala and Zufre. After the Reconquest, the Huelva Sierra played an essential role in defending the kingdom’s limits, constantly besieged by the Portuguese kings.