SEVILLA
TRAILS OF ANDALUSIA
TO THE COAST
SEVILLA
TRAILS OF ANDALUSIA
TO THE COAST
2021 Availability
March 7-14 March 21-28 April 11-18* October 17-24 October 31 – November 7 November 14-21 *Sold out
HIGHLIGHTS
Haciendas of Sevilla Doñana National park El Rocío Canter through El Rocío Gallop on the beach Excellent terrain for riding Horses for “riders” Horse-carriage for non-riders (Flamenco pairing dinner) (Fish and seafood) (Pub crawl on horseback)
«Sevilla, Trails of Analusia:
2020 Trails of Andalusia | 8 days-7 nights-6 days riding
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In Andalusia it is still possible to ride through the most unimaginable landscapes for several days, combining nature with the most ancient traditions. To the West of Sevilla, we will ride on the pilgrimage roads to El Rocío. Leaving from the south of Sevilla, we will ride through the olive groves and the orange trees, in blossom in the early spring of Sevilla. We will visit some private Haciendas and follow the Caminos to El Rocío, a traditional pilgrimage to this unique white village, home of the sacred Virgen del Rocío and named the International village of the horse. All the houses have stables and all the streets are sand tracks. In the times of the pilgrimage, this village hosts thousands of horses - many of them Andalusian stallions. The Doñana nature reserve stretches of a 100,000 hectares protected area and it is one of Europe’s most valuable natural landscapes. The landscape of this area is of great diversity: forests of pine and savine, eucalyptus and cork oaks; dunes, marshlands and preserves. Thousands of birds come to spend the winter in this paradise.
Equiberia is the only riding holiday company that has a concession to ride through the Doñana Park to reach the unspoilt Atlantic coast. Through the less know parts of the reserve, the hidden lagoons, the shrub forests and the dunes, we will reach the most Southwestern coast of Spain and the never-ending empty beaches of Doñana.
Sevilla
Riders will be picked up at the Sevilla AVE Santa Justa train station at the agreed times (the train station is at a 10-15 min trip by taxi from the airport).
Meeting time 4pm on the first Sunday of the ride.
It is not necessary to be an expert rider but it is essential that riders have trail riding experience, can easily manage a horse at all paces and be familiar and comfortable handling a horse on the ground. The pace of the ride will vary, but the ride includes walks, trots, canters and gallops depending on the terrain. A level of fitness is required, as the days are 4-6 hours. Riders can assist in taking care of their horses if they wish - but it is not necessary. Horses will be ready for the riders to get on every morning.
Weight limit of 90kgs / 198 pounds (with riding equipment on) ders to get on every morning.
The horses are Hispano-Arab, Anglo-Hispano Arab and Andalusian breed ranging in height from 15 - 16 hh, and selected for their good nature and endurance. The horses have been carefully bred and trained by Alfonso Gonzalo de Bustos, a great horseman, who is an expert in Andalusian dressage or Doma Vaquera, and passionate about all the Andalusian traditions. At present, he is competing in TREC. The horses are excellent, quite spirited, fun–to–ride, very well-trained and very fit.
The pace of the ride is moderate to fast, with many opportunities for good trots and canters. The terrain is excellent, with predominantly sandy tracks in the pine forests and good terrain when riding though the “dehesas” (oaks land and pastures) and the private estates. The ride will be led by Alfonso and Maria Elena.
Lodging is very comfortable and full of charm.The Cortijo de La Corbera, where the ride starts and ends, has accommodation in the finca, eight beautiful bedrooms, charming and with all the facilities. The Cortijo Ardea Purpurea (Purple Heron), in the boundaries of the Doñana Park has been built in the traditional country style, with thatched roofs and wood beams, and it has the atmosphere of a charming lodge. In the magic village of El Rocio, we’ll stay at the Casa Rural El Lince, one of the traditional houses of this horse village, which has been restored as a comfortable hotel. The last two nights, new to this ride, will be spent at the luxurious Parador of Mazagón 4*. It is situated right on the Atlantic coast with the best views of the ocean and direct access to the beach. It has a beautiful garden with a swimming pool and spa, a great way to end this exciting week ride.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included while on the trek. The local cuisine and wines are excellent and much consideration is taken when planning the meals to provide visitors with a sampling of the many different specialties produced in the area. Lunch is a "picnic" ( a starter and a main dish) - Andalusian are experts with the aperitifs and picnics in the countryside. Every meal is cooked at local restaurants and served in the countryside. Dinner at the cortijos or at restaurants. Vegetarians can be accommodated with advance notification. All drinks are included: fino - "manzanilla" -, beer, wine, and spirits.
The usual schedule for meals is:
Breakfast at 9.00 - 9.30 a.m. /Aperitif at 1.00 - 1.30 a.m. /Lunch at 2.30 - 3.00 p.m. /Siesta/ Dinner at 9.30 p.m.
A support vehicle will follow the riders during the entire trip, meeting for aperitifs, meals and at night. Breakfast, aperitifs, lunch and dinner are included while on the trek. The local cuisine is excellent and much consideration is taken when planning the meals to provide visitors with a sampling of the many different dishes produced in the area. Lunch is usually a picnic in the countryside with set tables, chairs... and small feast everyday! Some lunches will be cooked on the spot; others prepared the village bars o restaurants, always exquisite. Dinner is at the hotels will feature a varied selection of the typical cuisine.
Vegetarians can be accommodated with advance notice.
The usual schedule for meals: Breakfast 8.30. Aperitif at 12.30pm. Lunch at around 2.00pm. Dinner is usually served at 9.00pm.
Day 1 SEVILLA – CORTIJO LA CORBERA (UTRERA)
Pick up Meeting time around 16:00 – 16:30 at the Sevilla airport – or at the Santa Justa train station if you are in Seville already. Transfer to the equestrian centre La Corbera, south of Sevilla, near Utrera, about 20-30min from Sevilla.
It is a beautiful Cortijo, a traditional Andalusian country estate. Distribution of the rooms. Introduction to the horses and the stables. Short afternoon ride (1 and a half-2 hours). Sundowners after the ride. Welcome dinner and night at La Corbera. The accommodation is at the finca, with 8 charming bedrooms overlooking the countryside.
Day 2. HACIENDA LA CORBERA - HACIENDA LA INDIANA
This day will be a short ride for the riders and the horses to get accommodated. Ride through agricultural land and pine woods. Aperitif in the countryside. near the pine woods. Some trots and canters to the area of the beautiful Hacienda La Indiana. Picnic lunch in the woods. In the afternoon, ride back to La Corbera. Dinner and night at la Corbera.
Day 3 HACIENDA TORREQUEMADA - VILLAMANRIQUE DE LA CONDESA – ARDEA PURPUREA
Ride will start at Torrequemada, a XVI c. Hacienda of Andalusia. After a brief visit of Torrequemada. This is a traditional stop of the pilgrims on their way to El Rocio, the Camino de Triana, from where we will start the ride. Through farming land of olive trees we will get to the pine forest for the aperitivo stop. We will follow the Camino de Triana, and stop for a picnic lunch at the Dehesa de Torneros. In the afternoon we will cross the river Quema, where the pilgrims heading towards El Rocio, traditionally are baptised! We will ride on to Villamanrique de la Condesa, to the beautiful cortijo lodge Ardea Purpurea. Dinner and night at this charming place dedicated to the Purple Heron, due to its great location for birdwatching in the boundaries of Doñana.
Day 4. VILLAMANRIQUE - CAMINO DE HINOJOS - EL ROCÍO
Ride through pine woods and the Dehesa de Boyal, a forest of holm and cork oaks. We will follow the Camino de Pilas, through agricultural land and enter the pine forest, where we’ll stop for an aperitivo. Through beautiful pastures and Andalusian horse-breeding farms, we will reach the Camino de Hinojos, with very lush vegetation of umbrella pines, holm oaks, cork oaks and wild olives. Beautiful sand “caminos” ideal for great canters. Picnic lunch in the pine forest. In the afternoon we’ll reach the boundaries of El Rocío, the destination of the pilgrimage to the Virgen del Rocío. We’ll leave the horses in a farm outside El Rocío and transfer to the village. We will stay at a traditional house of El Rocío, converted into the comfortable Casa rural El Lince.
Day 5. EL ROCÍO
Half-day ride. We will ride in El Rocío, the international village of the Horse, and visit the church Ermita de la Virgen del Rocío. It is a unique village: all the houses have stables and all the streets are sand tracks, where it is possible to canter from the church to the bar. In the times of the pilgrimage this village hosts a million people and thousands of horses! Aperitivo near the river Ajolí. Lunch at a restaurant in El Rocío. Night at the Hotel Casa Rural El Lince.
Day 6. CAMINO DE MOGUER – DOÑANA NATURE RESERVE - CABEZUDOS
Following the “Camino de Moguer”. This Camino follows the stream of La Rocina, which runs for 40km, and it is call “la Madre” and its waters area the source of the marisma – the marshlands which are the heart of Doñana. Along its banks one can often see many different species of birds and at times, deer and the wild boars, as well as a variety of plant species. Aperitif stop in the countryside surrounded by pine trees where the pilgrims from Huelva rest when making the Rocio pilgrimage. Ride to the lagoon of Rivatehilos through forest of savine and mastic shrub. Lunch near the lagoon. In the afternoon ride to the abandoned village of Cabezudos, where the horses will stay. Transfer to the Parador of Mazagón 4*. Dinner and night at the Parador.
Day 7. CABEZUDOS – ATLANTIC COAST – MAZAGÓN
This day we will ride in the most Western part of Doñana. This area is very little known and it has a unique beauty, combining lagoons with forests of great diversity, wild shrub, rockrose, mastic, rosemary, thyme… and some spectacular wild flowers in the early spring. Aperitivo by the Laguna de la Piedras. We will gradually abandon the forests to reach the dunes, which in this part of the Doñana are fossilized. We will have lunch at the top of the dunes with our first gaze at the Atlantic Ocean. Through the dunes, we will finally descend towards the beach. Riding along the coast for more than 7 kms, we will end this beautiful ride with some exhilarating canters on this never ending beaches of Doñana. Farewell dinner and night at the Parador of Mazagón.
Day 8. SEVILLA.
Breakfast and transfer to Sevilla, to the airport or the Santa Justa train station.
End of the programme.
* END OF THE RIDE *
Contact person: Maria Elena
Telephone: 0034 689343974
Email: equiberia@equiberia.com
ABOUT SEVILLA
Sevilla is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos or hispalenses, following the Roman name of the city, Hispalis. Sevilla is without a doubt one of Spain’s most beautiful cities. The Sevillanos are an extremely proud and passionate people. To many Sevilla is not just a place, it is a way of life. The Guadalquivir, Semana Santa, the April Feria, Velazquez, Don Juan Tenorio, orange blossom, the dancing of Sevillanas and bullfights….. Sevilla is bright, beautiful and a city that must be seen and must be experienced. Following the Moorish conquest in 712, Seville came under a long period of Moorish rule. It was during this period that both the Giralda and the Mosque (Mezquita) were built, on the site where the Cathedral now stands.With the discovery of America in 1492, Sevilla developed a monopoly on trade with the New World. It became the arrival and departure point for every expedition to the newly discovered continent. Sevilla began to amass a great wealth, palaces were built, new industries were created and the whole city was a hive of activity. All financed by American gold.
In 1929 Sevilla hosted the Ibero-American Exhibition and in 1992, the Expo. Both of these events had a significant impact on Sevilla to become the beautiful city you can discover nowadays.
ABOUT EL ROCÍO PILGRIMAGE
The Romería de El Rocío is a procession/pilgrimage on the second day of the Pentecost to the Hermitage of El Rocío in the municipality of Almonte, province of Huelva, in honor of the Virgin of El Rocío. In recent years the Romería has brought together roughly a million pilgrims each year. The pilgrimage dates from 1653, when the Virgin of Las Rocinas was appointed patron saint of Almonte. Originally it took place on 8 September. Since 1758, the Virgin has been known as the Virgin of El Rocío, and the pilgrimage has taken place on the second day of Pentecost.
The pilgrims travel in groups known as religious confraternities. They come from all directions, all the “Caminos”: from the North, the Camino de los Llanos (Plains Way) from Almonte; from the West, the Moguer Way, from Moguer and Huelva; from the South, the Sanlúcar Way from Cádiz, crossing the River Guadalquivir at El Bajo de Guía; and from the West, the Seville Way, where many confraternities meet, coming from all the other villages of the province, the different districts of Sevilla and other provinces of Andalusia.
ABOUT DOÑANA
Doñana National Park is a natural reserve in the provinces of Huelva and Seville. It covers 543 km2 (209.65 sq mi), of which 135 km2 (52.12 sq mi) are protected areas. The park is an area of marshes, shallow streams, and sand dunes in Las Marismas, the delta where the Guadalquivir River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It was established as a nature reserve in 1969 when the World Wildlife Fund joined with the Spanish government and purchased a section of marshes to protect it.
Doñana National Park has a biodiversity that is unique in Europe. The park features a great variety of ecosystems and shelters wildlife including thousands of European and African migratory birds, fallow deer, Spanish red deer, wild boars, European badgers, Egyptian mongooses, and endangered species such as the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx.
The Doñana nature reserve includes both the Doñana National Park, established in 1969, and the Natural Park, created in 1989 and expanded in 1997, creating a buffer zone of protection under the management of the regional government. The two parks, national and natural, have since been classified as a single natural landscape. Due to its strategic location between the continents of Europe and Africa and its proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar, Doñana's large expanse of salt marsh is a breeding ground as well as a transit point for thousands of European and African birds (aquatic and terrestrial), and hosts many species of migratory waterfowl during the winter, typically up to 200,000 individuals. Over 300 different species of birds may be sighted there annually. Considered the largest nature reserve in Europe, several different scientific institutions have monitoring stations within its boundaries to ensure appropriate development of adjacent lands and conservation of the threatened species that inhabit it. The area was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1994.
ACCOMMODATION
• Days 1 & 2 Cortijo La Corbera (Utrera – Sevilla)
• Day 3 Cortijo Ardea Purpurea (Villamanrique de la Condesa – Sevilla)
• Days 4 & 5 Casa Rural El Lince (El Rocío – Huelva) or similar hotel
• Days 6 & 7 Parador de Mazagón**** (Mazagón-Huelva)
CLIMATE
The climate in this are of Spain is nearly tropical. Winter months are strongly recommended - with gentle temperatures, maximum 18 - 22ºC and minimum temperatures at 8-10ºC. Average days of rain in the February – March – November months is 5 days per month.
HIGHLIGHTS
March 7-14
March 21-28
April 11-18*
October 17-24
October 31 – November 7
November 14-21
*Sold out
2021 Availability
Haciendas of Sevilla
Doñana National park
El Rocío
Canter through El Rocío
Gallop on the beach
Excellent terrain for riding
Horses for “riders”
Horse-carriage for non-riders
(Flamenco pairing dinner)
(Fish and seafood)
(Pub crawl on horseback)
2021 THE RIDES
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