The coastal authorities of Andalusia are elaborating a project to make it possible to walk along the coast of Cádiz from San Roque to Sanlúcar de Barrameda. This planned route of around 260 km of coastline will allow walkers to enjoy areas of great ecological value while guaranteeing the connection between ecosystems, especially for those protected coastal regions.

For the moment, the authorities have begun technical studies to create a coastal footpath connecting the cities of Cádiz and San Fernando, and by so doing adding itself to the interconnecting network of paths within the Bay of Cádiz’s Nature Reserve.

This will enable many local residents to get to know and enjoy areas of great ecological value around the dunes and the salt marshes of the Reserve.

Marshlands, beaches, pine forests and sand dunes make up this Nature Reserve where boat trips can be taken to see the estuaries and salt marshes, a reminder of what, in the 19th century, was one of the most prosperous industries in the Bay, when more than a hundred salt marshes existed.

In front of the coast, you can find the little island of Sancti Petri where legend has it that Temple of Hercules and Atlantida are located and through which important historical figures such as Hannibal or the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar have passed.

It was there that the Phoenicians erected a sanctuary devoted to Melkart, a deity worshipped by those sailors who arrived on these coasts 3000 years ago from the most easterly side of the Mediterranean.

It is worth delving deeper into the labyrinth of the Reserve by boat and taste the local fish freshly caught in the estuaries cooked in a thick protective layer of salt “a la sal” or baked on a roof slate “a la teja”.

This footpath will form part of a wider interconnecting network of paths within the Bay of Cádiz’s Nature Reserve, joining up with Tres Amigos and Camposoto – Punto Boquerón which in turn links up with the Visitor Centre at Leocadia.

Once data has been collected, a task which will take some eight months, meetings will be held between the municipal authorities of Cádiz and San Fernando and the provincial delegation of the Andalusian Parliament’s Ministry of the Environment as well as with various associations of residents and users to ensure that the path reflects public needs and wishes while at the same time being compatible with the protection and preservation of the Nature Reserve.

With a budget of 44,800 €, the company Idom Servicios Integrales de Ingeniería S.L. is responsible for the technical support tasks.