Bardenas zones: Blanca, Negra, El Plano and which to pick

The three zones at a glance

The descriptions come from the park authority (in Spanish) and from Visit Navarra (in Spanish). The park authority does not publish the surface area of each zone, so we do not give one. For the park as a whole it states 41,845 ha and altitudes of 280 to 659 m; Visit Navarra gives 42,500 ha. Two sources, two figures: we cite the one that belongs to each fact.

Bardena Blanca: the first visit

• What it is. The central depression of the park. According to the park authority, erosion carved out a soft clay substrate, and it is the most eroded zone, with bad-lands. Visit Navarra calls it the most photographed and most visited.
• How to drive it. Visit Navarra describes the track of about 25 km that skirts the Bardena Blanca from Arguedas as a drive of about 2 hours, ideal for a first visit. That is their figure, not a time measured by Vive Bardenas. They advise against sports cars and minis. Details in Bardenas Reales by car and How to get there.
• On foot. Castildetierra and the Barranco de las Cortinas, a 1.15 km walk according to Visit Navarra: Hiking and Castildetierra.
• Who it suits. Anyone with half a day, families, or anyone after the classic desert picture.
• Watch out. Pisquerra, Rallón and other spots lie inside the “El Plano – Blanca Alta” ZEPA, which has its own rules. Check the current notice before planning them.

El Plano: the plateau few people mention

• What it is. According to the park authority, a large horizontal plateau in the north and west, above 500 m, protected by a hard petrocalcic horizon. Visit Navarra describes it as a plateau given over to crops, with the El Ferial reservoir.
• How to get there. From Carcastillo you enter by El Paso, where the Shepherd monument stands, according to Visit Navarra. That track joins the perimeter track and is the second main route by car. Check its status first in Can I go today?: the perimeter track and El Paso have been cut at times.
• By bike. Mountain-bike circuit 1, “El Plano” (28.6 km), starts at El Paso: Mountain biking in the Bardenas.
• Who it suits. Cyclists, and anyone who prefers plateau and fields to gullies. It is not the postcard image.
• What we do not know. The park authority does not detail its surface area or which wildlife is specific to it.

Bardena Negra: the south, with pines

• What it is. Horizontal table-like reliefs with little erosion, although between the plateaus there are places of more intense erosion (park authority). The slopes of La Negra hold the only woods in the park, of Aleppo pine, with Portuguese oak in some shaded spots. Visit Navarra describes it as redder and with more vegetation.
• How to get there. Via Fustiñana (N-126) or Ejea de los Caballeros (N-125). The park authority calls the Fustiñana entrance the South Gate: South Gate.
• On foot. The El Fraile trail, easy to moderate. Visit Navarra’s figures differ between its own sections (almost 6 km and 5 km; 1 h 30 to 2 h): take them as an order of magnitude. More in Hiking.
• By bike. Mountain-bike circuits 5 to 8 are in this zone: Mountain biking.
• Who it suits. Anyone who has already seen the Blanca, who sleeps in Fustiñana, or who prefers to walk or ride among pines.

Which to choose

• First visit, half a day: Bardena Blanca from Arguedas.
• Two days: the Blanca on the first; on the second, depending on the notices, El Paso or the South Gate. See the two-day plan.
• By bike: El Plano and the Negra have their own circuits; choose by the climb in each route sheet.
• Sleeping in Fustiñana: the Bardena Negra via the South Gate.
• All three in one day? That is not a plan, it is a list.

Before you go: what is open today

The zones do not close as a whole, but stretches are cut off: ZEPA, closed tracks, hunting drives. This guide describes the landscape, not today’s status. Check Can I go today? and the park notices.

Frequently asked questions