Acebrón Palace and the Lagoon Trail

A white palace in the middle of the forest, about 7 km from the La Rocina centre along the H-9023 road, which is now a National Park visitor centre. At the foot of the palace, the Rocina stream pools into a small lagoon that locals call the Charco, and from there starts the Charco del Acebrón trail, of about 1.5 to 2 km depending on the source: it is the shadiest part of the Doñana area and a good walk for a hot afternoon.

The palace

It was built in 1961 by Luis Espinosa Fontdevilla as a private residence. Today it houses the exhibition Doñana and Man, on the life of local people and their environment: what the huts made from local plants were like, the organisation of the family, the hard life in the marshes and traditional trades, such as hunting, fishing and livestock farming. It also covers present-day uses such as strawberry growing, tourism and hospitality, and traditions such as the Saca de las Yeguas and the El Rocío pilgrimage. It is adapted for people with reduced mobility and hearing impairments.

The trail

It is a pedestrian trail without difficulty through a very well-preserved gallery forest. It starts among large ash trees beside the water and continues along a boardwalk over the willow grove, with willows, which they call zaos here, and sanguinos, a species endemic to western Andalusia, wrapped in honeysuckle and wild vine. Then it crosses a stone-pine wood where there were once eucalyptus, now recovered with native vegetation, returns to the riverside forest by a second boardwalk with ferns such as the royal fern, and ends among cork oaks, peat bogs and white poplars.

In spring and summer, after the flowering from December to April, the leaves close the canopy and the forest becomes cool and shady: that is why it is so pleasant in the heat.

Opening hours

The centre and the trail are open from November to January from 9:00 to 15:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00; from February to October, from 9:00 to 15:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00. On Sundays from 15 June to 15 September, only from 9:00 to 15:00. They are closed on 1, 5 and 6 January, 24, 25 and 31 December and during the pilgrimage. Admission is free.

Getting there

By car only: from the A-483, take the turning for La Rocina and El Acebrón, pass the La Rocina centre and continue seven kilometres along the H-9023 to the palace car park. The trail starts beside the building.

Combine it on the same outing with the Charco de la Boca trail, at La Rocina, and return to the village to see the hermitage at sunset. With children it is a short, flat, shaded walk.