 |
Located in Castelló d'Empúries, the area near the beach and closest to Roses, La Rubina forms part of the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà nature park. |
 |
|
| |
 |
It is made up of over 400 "pieces" of a vessana i quart (an old system of land measurement equivalent to 0.33 hectares), encompassed by sluices and banks of tamarisk, the trees most resistant to salt water. These "pieces" arose from the distribution of the land among residents of Castelló d'Empúries after the disentailment of Mendizábal at the end of the nineteenth century. They were generally used for farming, though the crops have changed over time and the majority are now hayfields, barley and sunflower crops, wasteland that has allowed the natural vegetation, particularly jonquils to grow and sectors where land and rubble has been dumped. |
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
The best preserved parts contain some very interesting vegetation and there is a particularly striking orchid population. In the winter, the lower areas often turn into marshland and provide food for wading birds and many passeriforme species. The sluices are home to many invertebrates and amphibians. |
|
|
| |
 |
To prevent misuse of this land, there have been purchased several strategically-positioned pieces within the reserve to ensure better conservation and management of the area as a whole.
The area is managed in collaboration with the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà nature park and the association Amics del Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà.
The irrigation channels between the meadows are used by mallards for breeding and by otters and kingfishers for fishing. In the rows of trees, cuckoos, golden orioles and, with a bit more luck, rollers can be observed. Butterflies and dragonflies are abundant in the spring.
|
|
|
| |
 |
How to get there? |
| |
| La Rubina is between the Empúriabrava and Santa Margarida housing developments. To get there, take the dual-carriageway from Castelló d'Empúries to Roses, and turn off to the right by the Llar restaurant along a road which leads to La Rubina and the Castell Mar campsite. In this zone you can walk along the main tracks and thus see some of the more than 400 long, narrow meadows which make up this singular area. |
|
|
back
