Tabernas Desert

A hike of just 10km in the middle of the desert and in a western setting. It takes place in the Tabernas Desert Natural Park, north of Almeria in Spain, a desert area in an arid landscape. The American West and its canyons.

Details

n°1045799

Creation:
31 Mar 2018

Last update:
30 Mar 2026

Last review:
26 Apr 2026

Activity: Walking
Distance: 9.51 km
Average duration: 3h 05
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: No
Ascent: + 116 m
Descent: - 126 m
Highest point: 320 m
Lowest point: 237 m

Country: Spain
City: Tabernas
Start: N 37.020413° / W 2.435232°
End: N 37.021396° / W 2.434819°
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Photos

View of the village from the bare plateau

Description of the walk

Head towards Tabernas after leaving the A92 motorway. Park in the car park opposite "Oasys mini Hollywood" about 500 m after the crossroads with the N340. The trailhead is on the opposite side of the road, behind the wooden house of the tourist office.

(S/E) The path leads to wooden fences facing South. Take the stairs down to the Rambla (often dry, sandy riverbed).

(1) Cross the Rambla through the reeds to the other side and follow the riverbed in the canyon in a South-Westerly direction. Reach the crossroads of several paths.

(2) Take the left-hand path, which is in fact a very wide riverbed running parallel to the Rambla. Then follow a wide path that curves away from the river bed. Reach a wide flat with a group of palm trees in what could be called an oasis.

(3) At this point, continue along the bottom of the Rambla, making a U-turn. Follow the well-marked path at the bottom of the ravine to the north-east.
Note: for this hike in March, we found numerous beehives along the way, which caused us to deviate from the path to rejoin the Rambla. If there are no beehives, continue along the path and follow the riverbed as it heads due north.

Turn right onto the Rambla and follow the meandering riverbed back to the previous crossroads.

(2) Turn left to head North, passing under the Callejones bridge (road bridge). Continue due North, leaving behind the canyons on the right to climb the Arroyo Verdelecho. You'll come to a truly superb spot through high rock faces and strata of different colors and geometric shapes, like a paving stone.

(5) At the end of a bend to the right, rejoin the path, climb up to the plateau and reach a new crossroads.

(6) Go straight ahead along the path at the bottom of the ravine (this part is optional) to discover the settings of Sergio Leone's films (see details in the "During the hike" section).

(7) Rejoin the previous crossroads by following the path in the opposite direction.

(6) Take the path that climbs to the left over the bare plateau. Be sure to spot the yellow and white trailhead, which is marked discreetly. Follow this marker as it heads east on an obvious path with cairns in places. Descend into the Tabernas embankment.

(8) Turn right to the South then West, cross the rembla and climb up a wide path to reach the car park at the start (S/E).

Waypoints

S : km 0 - alt. 297 m - Tourist office
1 : km 0.56 - alt. 266 m - Crossing the Rambla
2 : km 1.17 - alt. 244 m - Wide river bed
3 : km 1.93 - alt. 240 m - Oasis
4 : km 2.43 - alt. 247 m - Beehives
5 : km 4.13 - alt. 265 m - Arroyo Verdelecho
6 : km 5.29 - alt. 286 m - Cross
7 : km 5.99 - alt. 310 m - Sergio Leone western decor
8 : km 8.21 - alt. 278 m - Rembla de Tabernas
E : km 9.51 - alt. 291 m - Arrival at the car park

Notes

Bring water as there are no water points on the circuit.
We did this tour in March with a temperature of around 15°. There was water in places at that time of year.
In summer, temperatures can be scorching and it rarely rains.

Yellow and white markings on wooden posts are rather discreet in the first part.
Part of the trail is shared with the GR^®140 marked in red and white.
The bottom of the canyons is sandy.

This hike is known as the PR^®-A269 Desert Trail in Spain, with a short 9 km circuit and a longer 14 km circuit.

Worth a visit

The walk through the canyons is spectacular.
There are still some small western villages in operation, 3 of the 14 from the heyday of spaghetti westerns: Texas Hollywood , Western Leone and mini Hollywood. Entrance fees apply.
The walk avoids these sites.
The area is particularly wild and arid.

(7) If, like us, you're drawn to western music, the echo through the canyon walls is spectacular. The settings for Leone's films are on the plateau to the left, which can be reached by walking up a path to the left.

(7) Possibility of walking up the canyon to discover other sites.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5

Based on 19 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5

Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5

Route interest
4.4 / 5

CécileK

26 Apr 2026 at 15:21 7200

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Paths and junctions that shouldn’t be there disrupt the route. We had to retrace our steps twice! We couldn’t even find the starting point! Fortunately, the map is easier to follow than the route description. There are ‘oasis’ palm trees in several places. In the evening, at sunset, there was a breeze, rabbits and even a fox. Not a soul in sight. A complete change of scenery!

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Valentinfelix

30 Mar 2026 at 19:24 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 28, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Stunning desert views
A lovely, easy walk
It’s a bit of a shame to hear the road noise in this beautiful landscape for 40 minutes!
Definitely worth doing to explore the Tabernas Desert

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calumet46

19 May 2025 at 11:27 7200

We never found the start, and perhaps we didn't look hard enough, as the storm invited itself in and didn't encourage us to descend into the canyons.

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Kinou65320

27 Jan 2025 at 19:08 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Super hike, magnificent location, gorgeous scenery. The route in January is not easy to follow visually and there is no traffic. The maps.me application helped us find a path and follow the right direction.

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Fablutte

07 Oct 2024 at 09:40 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful walk in a splendid setting, especially on the first part. Good shoes and water are essential, given the heat and the fact that you can't refill your tank. On the whole, the route was easy to follow.

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Dabère

12 Aug 2024 at 14:27 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Be sure to check your position often, as it's all too easy to get lost and, as the desert is cut by deep canyons, any mistake can cause a lot of stress and unnecessary fatigue. Of course, you'll need to stock up on plenty of water, especially fizzy water, as it will soon be at least 40'!
Or mint tea.
And a fully charged phone battery at the start.

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joelbis

15 Jan 2024 at 11:52 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An interesting route for exploring the Tabernas Desert and the natural backdrop to some western films.
There are no beehives at this time of year (January), so you can go straight on without going round them at waypoint 4.
Please note that there is a charge of €12 for admission to Sergio Léone's ghost village.

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randopyrene

07 May 2023 at 17:34 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful walk in the desert. Total change of scenery. Preferably in the morning.

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rufy

10 Apr 2023 at 15:37 7200 • Edited: 10 Apr 2023 at 15:50 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello ,
The route is not difficult, but we didn't meet many hikers, perhaps because of the date. The environment is very surprising, and it's easy to see why so many films have been made here. This really is the American West. It's a shame, however, that the village used in the films has been abandoned.

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En Pascot

14 Nov 2022 at 19:29 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great ride in spaghetti cowboy country. Fairly varied terrain, dry riverbed, oasis then "arid mountain".
Don't forget the water (even in October, it's hot), or the headphones to listen to Morricone (in the gorges).
You've come to see these things. Take this walk!

Alternatively, the start is far to the right of the Oasis park. Walk along the edge of the canyon (west-south-west) for 1 km until you find a large staircase leading down into the (dry) riverbed.

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Thomas B.

10 May 2022 at 20:05 7200

We'd love to. One day, we'll probably do the Bardenas as well.

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Mogette

10 May 2022 at 15:44 7200

Thank you for your comment. It reassures me about the description of this hike I did a few years ago.
We've just done the Bardenas desert in May 2022. Nothing to do with the Tabernas Desert. The Bardenas are best done by car or bike. Many prohibitions outside the tracks.

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Thomas B.

09 May 2022 at 21:29 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An exceptional walk in the heart of the Tabernas desert: we loved this route. Many thanks to the author. We did the walk as a family, including children aged 7 to 10. We lost a lot of time at the start, as the riverbed was relatively high following heavy rain the day before: don't hesitate to put your feet in the water or you'll have to take a few detours. In fact, it's sometimes impossible to avoid it, and it's nice to put your feet in the water in the heat.

Here's an extra tip: once you've reached point 7, once you've seen the village of Western Léone, don't hesitate to continue towards the abandoned village in the distance, which was also used as a set in the film El Condor.

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Frank Ryckewaert

02 Dec 2021 at 18:58 3600

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

You have a talent for complicating what doesn't have to be complicated. Why not say "go right or left" after passing under the bridge, for example? Why talk about U-turns, obliquing etc etc? The route is already very badly signposted, everyone agrees on that, so it would really be enough to give simple directions to help you find your way around.
Thanks all the same for your work, but really, stop with your "go north, south west" etc etc.
In any case, it's an interesting hike, especially in the beautiful light at the end of the day in early December.

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c'estici474

15 Feb 2020 at 18:45 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We really enjoyed this tour. Especially on 15 February (it was still 25°C on the way back). Although the description is very well done, we used the GPS points when we had any hesitation. Thanks to the author, and to the other hikers for their comments.

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