The Salinas of San Pedro del Pinatar is a short 40 minute drive from Ciudad Quesada. A trip well worth the visit.
At the northern edge of Murcia’s Mar Menor lies one of the most distinctive landscapes of southeastern Spain. The Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar.
Stretching between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean Sea. This remarkable landscape combines working salt pans, sand dunes, beaches, reed beds and shallow wetlands. It is simultaneously an important centre of salt production. And one of the most significant protected habitats on the Murcian coast.
Covering approximately 856 hectares, the Regional Park is considered the most important wetland in the Region of Murcia. It was formally classified as a Regional Park in 1992. While much of the area also enjoys European protection through the Natura 2000 network.
But like the Salinas of nearby Torrevieja, this isn’t simply a beautiful natural landscape. Salt has shaped San Pedro del Pinatar for centuries.
A History Written in Salt
Salt production here is extraordinarily old.
The precise origins are uncertain. But official sources suggest that salt was being produced in the area before or during Roman times. During the Middle Ages, several smaller saltworks operated here. And the Salinas subsequently remained associated with the Spanish Crown for centuries.
San Pedro itself developed as a community of farmers, fishermen, shepherds and salt workers. By the 17th century, a small settlement had grown around a chapel dedicated to Saint Peter the Apostle. Eventually giving San Pedro del Pinatar its modern name.
The town became an independent municipality in 1836. During the 19th century it also developed into a fashionable summer destination.
Salt production, however, continued. Since 1920, Salinera Española has operated the saltworks, and salt continues to be extracted today.
The result is something increasingly unusual: a traditional industry operating within an internationally important protected natural environment.
Between Two Seas
What makes the Salinas particularly fascinating is their location.
They occupy a narrow coastal landscape between two very different bodies of water. The Mediterranean on one side and the Mar Menor on the other.
A network of channels moves seawater through the salt-production system. Historically important pumping points are associated with the Molino de Quintín and Molino de la Calcetera, two distinctive windmills that have become landmarks of the area.
The water passes through different ponds where evaporation gradually increases its salinity until salt can eventually crystallise and be harvested. As the concentration of salt changes, so does the appearance of the water.
The colours of the water is truly amazing, with some ponds developing beautiful pink and reddish tones, particularly in the crystallisation areas. These colours are associated with microscopic organisms capable of surviving in extremely saline environments. While other neighbouring ponds can be bright turquoise to different shades of blue.
The result is a landscape that can change dramatically depending upon the light, season and stage of salt production.
The Flamingos of San Pedro
For many visitors, however, the stars of the Salinas are not the salt workers. They are the flamingos. Large numbers can often be seen feeding in the shallow salt ponds, creating one of the most memorable sights along this part of the Spanish coast.
The park is an important breeding, feeding and resting area for numerous bird species. In addition to flamingos, visitors may encounter black-winged stilts, avocets, little terns, herons, grebes and many other waterbirds.
Several birdwatching observatories have been constructed throughout the park, allowing visitors to watch wildlife without unnecessarily disturbing it. The wetlands are particularly important for migratory birds travelling between Europe and Africa.
This ecological importance has resulted in extensive protection. The area forms part of the Natura 2000 network and is designated as a Special Protection Area for Birds.
More Than Flamingos
It would be easy to think of the Salinas simply as a place to photograph flamingos, but the park contains a surprising variety of environments.
There are salt ponds, dunes, pine groves, salt marshes, reed beds and sandy coastal areas, each supporting different plants and animals adapted to the unusually saline conditions.
One particularly interesting resident is the fartet, a tiny Iberian fish capable of surviving in highly saline coastal waters and considered an important endemic species.
The park also preserves some of the remaining natural dune systems of the Murcian coastline. It is this combination of water, salt, sand and vegetation that makes the Salinas considerably more diverse than they first appear from the road.
Las Encañizadas – An Ancient Fishing Tradition
At the northern end of the Mar Menor is another fascinating feature of the landscape: Las Encañizadas. These shallow channels form part of the natural connection between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean.
For centuries, fishermen developed an ingenious system of catching fish as they moved between the two seas. Reeds were positioned in the shallow water to create a maze-like structure that guided fish into traps.
The technique dates back to at least medieval times and represents another example of people learning to work with the unusual geography of this landscape rather than against it.
Together with salt production, the encañizadas provide a direct connection between modern San Pedro del Pinatar and the lives of generations who depended upon these waters.
The Famous Mud Baths
The Salinas are also associated with one of the Mar Menor’s most unusual traditions — the mud baths of Lo Pagán*.
Along the area beside the Molino de Quintín, visitors can frequently be seen covering themselves in the dark mineral-rich mud before allowing it to dry in the sunshine and washing it away in the warm waters of the Mar Menor.
The mud baths have become one of the best-known attractions of San Pedro del Pinatar and are closely associated with the area’s reputation for health and wellness tourism. The local tourism authority incorporates the mud-bath area into routes explaining the traditional salt-working landscape.
Whether one subscribes to all the therapeutic claims or simply enjoys the experience, it is certainly one of the more distinctive traditions of the Mar Menor.
Visiting the Salinas
The park is particularly accessible compared with many protected wetlands.
A network of paths allows visitors to explore substantial parts of the area on foot or by bicycle, while several observation points provide excellent opportunities for birdwatching and photography.
The Las Salinas Visitor Centre is a useful starting point, with information about the natural environment, wildlife and cultural history of the park.
There are also organised guided walks at various times during the year covering subjects ranging from birdlife and salt production to the historic windmills and the ecology of the Mediterranean coastline.
As with any protected environment, visitors should remain on designated paths and avoid disturbing wildlife, and in summer, this is definitely somewhere to bring water, a hat and plenty of sun protection.
A Landscape Still at Work
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Salinas of San Pedro del Pinatar is that they have never become simply a museum of the past.
Salt is still produced. Flamingos still arrive. Fish still move between the Mar Menor and Mediterranean. People still walk beside the old salt-working windmills, and an industry that has shaped the landscape for centuries continues alongside one of Murcia’s most valuable natural habitats.
For visitors driving south from the Costa Blanca, San Pedro del Pinatar is often thought of primarily as the gateway to the Mar Menor.
But stop beside the Salinas, particularly early in the morning or as the sun begins to fall, and another San Pedro emerges.
It is a landscape of pink water, white salt, flamingos, windmills and two seas, and one that tells a story stretching back hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of years.
The Salinas of San Pedro del Pinatar are not simply a place to visit. They are a living connection between Murcia’s natural landscape and the people who have depended upon it for generations.