Jardín botánico La Almunya del Sur

Jardín botánico La Almunya del Sur is a privately run botanical garden in the municipality of El Ejido, in the province of Almería, on Spain's Andalusian coast. Spread over roughly 2,500 square meters, it operates as a kind of open-air museum dedicated to plant conservation and nature education — a surprising green pocket in a region best known for its vast expanse of plastic-covered greenhouses.

How did the garden come to be?

The site's story begins with an old family estate once used for growing citrus and other fruit trees; the original citrus grove dates back to 1969. In 2000, the landowner, Carlos Collado Pérez, started turning the former orchard into a botanical garden, using the existing fruit trees as a foundation and gradually building a much broader plant collection around them. What had been a working agricultural plot slowly became something else entirely — a space open to visitors and centered on spreading botanical knowledge rather than harvesting fruit.

What is there to see?

Despite its modest footprint, the garden holds more than 2,000 plant species from five continents, an unexpectedly rich collection for such a compact site. Among the features visitors ask about most often are the carnivorous plants — an unusual sight given the dry, Mediterranean climate of southern Spain, and one of the reasons the garden draws attention from both plant enthusiasts and casual travelers looking for something different from the beaches of the Costa de Almería.

Academic ties and recognition

La Almunya del Sur is not just a private hobby collection. The garden collaborates with the Universidad de Almería, giving it an educational and scientific dimension beyond simple sightseeing. It is also part of the Mediterranean Garden Network, which connects gardens suited to Mediterranean-type climates around the world, and it holds SICTED quality certification, a Spanish standard used to assess visitor services at destinations of touristic interest.

What can visitors do there?

The garden is open to the public and runs a range of nature-related activities: workshops on agriculture and gardening, sessions on floral art, environmental education events, and work on acclimatizing exotic species to local conditions. That mix means a visit can take different forms — a simple stroll through unusual vegetation, or a more hands-on encounter with gardening and species-conservation topics for those who want to dig a little deeper.

Why visit?

El Ejido is mostly associated with large-scale industrial agriculture — a sea of greenhouses and plastic tunnels that has reshaped the landscape of this part of Almería. Against that backdrop, a private botanical garden built by one family and developed over more than two decades stands out sharply: a place organized around diversity rather than monoculture production. It offers a different side of the region than the one usually seen in reports about its agricultural industry, making it a worthwhile stop for travelers curious about what else El Ejido has to offer.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the garden located? In the municipality of El Ejido, in the province of Almería, in Andalusia, southeastern Spain.

Who founded the garden, and when? Carlos Collado Pérez began developing it in 2000, building on an older family citrus plantation established in 1969.

How many plant species can be seen there? More than 2,000 species from five continents, including carnivorous plants, which are among its main attractions.

Does the garden have any formal recognition? Yes — it collaborates with the Universidad de Almería, belongs to the Mediterranean Garden Network, and holds SICTED quality certification.