The territory
The three regions of the natural park
The Natural Park Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, declared on July 28, 1989, is the largest protected area in Spain. It is located in the northeastern limit of Andalusia, occupying all the east of the province of Jaén.
The park extends over 3 counties, occupying all or part of the territory of 23 municipalities with a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants.
- Sierra de Segura (contributes 80% of the surface): Beas de Segura, Benatae, Génave, Hornos, La Puerta de Segura, Orcera, Santiago-Pontones, Segura de la Sierra, Siles, Torres de Albanchez.
- Sierra de Cazorla (it is the best known due to the great tourist development carried out in recent years): Cazorla, Chilluévar, Hinojares, Huesa, La Iruela, Peal de Becerro, Pozo Alcón, Quesada, Santo Tomé.
- Sierra de las Villas (the great unknown but with such beautiful resources as "El Charco La Pringue"): Iznatoraf, Sorihuela del Guadalimar, Villacarrillo and Villanueva del Arzobispo.
As productive sectors, livestock farming stands out (since it is developed in the most abrupt and elevated areas, especially in Santiago-Pontones, which has the largest sheep herd in the whole province) and among the agricultural uses, olive groves occupy a main place. Tourism has become an emerging sector.
The relief of the Natural Park is characterized by its broken and abrupt aspect, with a distribution of altitudes ranging from 600 meters in the lower elevations of the river valleys to 2,000 meters. The floristic richness of the area is evidenced by the presence of more than 1,800 inventoried species, which makes this Natural Park one of the areas of greatest botanical interest in Andalusia, only surpassed by Sierra Nevada. On the other hand, the faunistic richness of the Natural Park is evidenced by the fact that there are nearly 200 catalogued species, highlighting the presence of certain local endemic species such as the Valverde lizard and the subspecies of the common squirrel (Sciurus vulgare subsp. segurae).
The high average annual rainfall is one of the most outstanding characteristics of the Natural Park, which makes it one of the most important pluviometric islands in the south of the peninsula.