The Bardenas Reales

Make-belief is good enough.

That is what Italo-Western film producers must have thought when they chose the Bardenas Reales to shoot their European Wild-Wild-West strips. Anything that resembled the wide open plains of North America would do, and the Bardenas Reales comply well with this requirement. Very well, indeed: Set in the northeast corner of Spain, not far from the Pyrenean elevations, this valley with dimensions of some 45 by 25 kilometers provides adventurous rock formations and an unusual openness for the region. For a long time, it served as a base for military training and sheppards alike. And then, of course, for Italo-Western film productions.

Our journey to the Bardenas Reales took all in all no longer than half a day, starting from the Biscayan coast. Given the expanse of the terrain, the valley is bested visited by car. With soldiers and cameramen mostly gone, only sheep were on our side when we visited the Bardenas. And literally at our side, too, as we had to stop more than once because of a herd of sheep on the dusty road. The Bardenas Reales, located between Zaragossa and Pamplona, are amazingly deserted, with very few visitors. The result of this is a deafening silence in the valley, when not even the faintest sound will find the way into your ears.

On our way back, we stopped in one of the small villages surrounding the Bardenas. Nibbling on fried pig skin, a snack specialty of the area, we reflected on a few fascinating hours exploring a strip of land that we would not have expected in this region at all.

For any passerby through the region, the Bardenas Reales are a perfect stop-over. When you come, bring plenty of water, as the arid air dries your throat swiftly. And bring an eye for detail. Otherwise you will know why nobody ever comes out here. But if you know how to look closely, you will find out how much all these people are missing...