Ses Salines Natural Reserve
One of the most beautiful parts of Ibiza can be found in the little known Pitiüsas Islands. These are known as the Ses Salines or “Salt Flats” of Ibiza and Formentera and were designated a Natural Reserve in 1995. Many years ago, Ibiza was known as the island of salt and today the extraction of salt continues as in the past using traditional methods and creating a landscape of white mountains which seem to have come from another world. The salt flats includes almost all the southern tip of Ibiza, the north of Formentera and the islets which separate both islands. It is an ecosystem with a rich diversity and lists 124 catalogued species of herons and flamingos which are easy to spot on their migratory journeys from July to October and from February to May. The flats also incorporate some beatiful becahes. On the Formentera part are the coastal lagoons of s’Estany d’es Peix, Estany Pudent and the Bassa de s’Espalmador and on Ibiza, the pebbly beach of Es Codolar and the white sandy beaches of Illetes, Cavallet and Trinxa or Salines close to the saltworks from where you can see them loading cargoes of salt. The region is also excellent for bike riding and if you can make it to Puig del Corb MarÃ, you can enjoy a full panoramic view of the salt flats - a place where the mountains are neither green nor brown, but white as salt.
The Ses Salines Natural Reserve has an information office in Ibiza (Tel: +(34) 971 302 561) and another one in Formentera (Tel: +(34) 971 323 283), both open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. In the summer there is a private horse and cart service which runs along the coastal area of Es Migjorn and Es Cavallet, in Ibiza
The Ses Salines website is here: http://www.ajsessalines.net
For a list of natural parks and nature reserves in the Balearics, go to: http://www.parks.it/world/ES/Eindex.html#Baleari
