Bardenas Reales a clay desert in southern Navarre

What the Bardenas are

The Bardenas Reales are 41,845 hectares of semi-desert land with no villages in the southeast of Navarre, between Tudela, Arguedas, Carcastillo and the border with Aragon. They have been a Natural Park since 1999 and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2000. It rains little, about 350 litres a year, and water and wind have carved the clay and gypsum into hillocks, plains and ravines.

The park has three zones. The Bardena Blanca, in the centre, is the depression of pale, bare soils: the one in the photos, with Castildetierra, the Pisquerra and the Rallón. El Plano, to the north, is an almost flat terrace of cultivated land. The Bardena Negra, to the south, has large limestone plains with pines and kermes oaks that darken the land. In the middle of the Blanca is the Air Force firing range, about 2,244 hectares that are not part of the park and cannot be entered.

It is not an abandoned place: for centuries the territory has belonged to twenty-two "congozantes", villages, valleys and the monastery of La Oliva, which manage it as the Comunidad de Bardenas Reales. That is why you will see flocks, crops and working tracks closed to visitors.

How to get there and where to enter

The usual entrance is Arguedas, on the N-134 between Tudela and Pamplona. From the village, the park road leads to the information centre, at the Aguilares estate, about 7 km away. That is where the track of about 25 km around the Bardena Blanca begins: Visit Navarra gives it about two hours by car with stops, and it is the best first visit.

Approximate times to Arguedas, estimated by road: from Pamplona, about an hour along the AP-15; from Zaragoza, an hour and a quarter along the AP-68 or the A-68 to Tudela; from Logroño, a little over an hour along the AP-68; from Soria, an hour and a half via Tarazona and Tudela. From San Sebastián or Vitoria-Gasteiz it is more than two hours, better with a night.

There are other entrances. From the north, from Carcastillo, the El Paso track descends to join the Blanca's perimeter track; after this autumn's storms, the park warns of a closed stretch between the Perimetral and El Paso. The Bardena Negra is reached from the N-125 at Ejea or from Fustiñana. Next to the El Ferial reservoir, on the N-121 between Tudela and Caparroso, there is another area for tourist use.

Without a car, the visit is not practical: there is no public transport inside the park and distances are long. The 4x4 companies in the area pick you up in nearby villages, less than 25 km away.

Where to park and what the rules are

You park at the information centre and in the marked places beside the authorised routes, never in the middle of the track or off it. The park's rules are few and are enforced:

• Hours: from 8:00 until an hour before dusk. Visit Navarra advises leaving before 16:30 in winter.
• Cars and bikes, only on the marked tracks. Leaving them is forbidden, as is walking cross-country over hills and slopes.
• Maximum speed of 40 km/h and groups of fewer than five vehicles.
• No camping, sleeping in a motorhome, lighting fires, flying drones or climbing.
• Dogs always on a lead, with a leash of 3 metres at most, and never inside buildings.

The track is earth and an ordinary car can drive it with care; Visit Navarra advises against sports cars and very low cars. In persistent rain the park recommends not entering: the clay turns to mud and the tracks get damaged.

How much time and when to go

Half a day is enough for the Blanca track, Castildetierra and the short walk in the Cortinas ravine. With a full day you add a guided trip to the Bardena Negra, a horse ride or the Sendaviva park, and you sleep in Arguedas or Valtierra to see the sunset.

Spring and autumn are the best seasons. In summer the heat arrives early and there is no shade: enter at 8:00 and leave before midday, or come back for sunset. In winter the days are short, but the low light on the hillocks is very good for photography. Before going, check the notices on the park's website: there are one-off closures because of storms, bird nesting in El Plano and events, such as the one for the eclipse of 12 August 2026.