Los Alcornocales Natural Park

Los Alcornocales Natural Park is a natural park located in the south of Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its territory is shared between two provinces, Cádiz and Málaga, making it one of the more extensive protected areas in this part of the country.

Where exactly is the park located?

The park lies in Andalusia, spanning a territory that covers seventeen municipalities. Its approximate geographic coordinates are 36.3484 latitude and -5.604 longitude. This spread across seventeen separate municipalities shows how large and administratively distributed the protected area is, with parts falling within both the Province of Cádiz and the Province of Málaga.

What does the name of the park mean?

The name "Los Alcornocales" comes from Spanish and literally means "the cork oak groves". This is not an arbitrary label — it points directly to a defining feature of the landscape: stands of cork oak that characterize the terrain. The park's name is therefore a direct reference to the tree cover that shapes its natural identity.

How many people live within the park's territory?

Although Los Alcornocales is a protected natural area, it is not uninhabited land. Across the seventeen municipalities that make up the park's territory, there is a combined population of about 380,000 people. This illustrates that the park exists in close proximity to — and partly within — inhabited settlements, which is typical of many Spanish natural parks where environmental protection coexists with local communities.

Which administrative province does the park belong to?

The park does not fall entirely within a single administrative unit. Its territory is divided between two provinces: Cádiz and Málaga. This cross-provincial division means that management and conservation of the area require coordination beyond a single province, a pattern seen in other large Andalusian protected areas that straddle regional boundaries.

Frequently asked questions

In which country and region is Los Alcornocales Natural Park located? The park is located in Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, on territory shared between the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga.

What does the park's name mean? "Los Alcornocales" means "the cork oak groves", referring to the cork oak stands that characterize the area.

How many municipalities does the park cover? The park's territory covers seventeen municipalities, home to a combined population of about 380,000 people.

Is the park located within a single province? No — its territory is divided between two provinces, Cádiz and Málaga, distinguishing it from parks confined to a single administrative unit.

Los Alcornocales Natural Park stands as an example of a large, cross-provincial protected area in Andalusia, whose name and character are closely tied to the presence of cork oak groves across its land, and whose administrative boundaries span a considerable number of municipalities and residents across the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga.