Encañizadas and salt flats at the end of La Manga, km 18

Wetland, dunes and channels where the Gran Vía ends

The salt-flat ecosystem at the end of La Manga is the wetland extending beyond km 18, at Punta de los Guzmanes, where the land breaks into channels and pools before reaching the salt flats of San Pedro del Pinatar. It is a protected area of Mar Menor, freely accessible, and preserves traditional encañizadas fishing traps.

A landscape of water and sand

Salt ponds, reed beds, saltmarsh, dunes and the channels through which Mar Menor drains into Mediterráneo coexist here. The land is almost flat, with silty shallows exposed when the wind pushes water from one side to the other. This tide-like movement is very unusual in Mediterráneo.

Fishing with encañizadas

An ancient fishing method survives in these channels: mazes of reeds and nets guide sea bream, mullet and sole into an enclosure as they pass between the two seas. Encañizada de la Torre, in this same area, is the best known.

How to explore it

The area is shared by San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar, and lies around the Regional Park of the Salinas y Arenales of San Pedro del Pinatar. The easiest way to see it is from the salt flats side, where the waymarked PR-MU 65 Las Encañizadas trail, a 11,9 km loop, starts from the Las Salinas Visitor Centre. From the end of the Gran Vía you can also see the golas. For similar visits, see the places of interest in La Manga.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the end of La Manga?

Beyond km 18 of the Gran Vía, at Punta de los Guzmanes. From there, the channels and wetland extend to the salt flats of San Pedro del Pinatar.

What are encañizadas?

A traditional fishing method using reeds driven into the bed of the channels to guide fish into an enclosure as they pass from Mar Menor to Mediterráneo.

Is there a trail to visit it?

Yes. The waymarked PR-MU 65 Las Encañizadas trail, a 11,9 km loop, starts from the Las Salinas Visitor Centre in San Pedro del Pinatar.

What protection does this area have?

It is part of the Mar Menor, declared a Specially Protected Area of Importance for the Mediterráneo, and lies around the regional park of the salt flats of San Pedro del Pinatar.

Ecosistema Salinero (Final de la Manga. Encañizadas)

Wetland, dunes and channels where the Gran Vía ends

A landscape of water and sand

Fishing with encañizadas

How to explore it

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