Salburua ? Red Natura 2000 Space
Refuge for globally threatened species
Come and discover Salburua, declared a Red Natura 2000 area, with its small oak forest and several lagoons where more than 200 species live. You will find, for example, a European mink (an endangered mammal), herons and deer. Within Salburua you can visit Ataria, the interpretation center of these wetlands (included in the RAMSAR list for its international importance) where you will be provided with practical information on routes and tours.
Salburua Park, which is part of the Green Belt of Vitoria-Gasteiz, is installed on a set of wetlands that in the late 80's had been practically drained due to drainage works initiated in the mid-nineteenth century, at first, with the aim of putting these soils under cultivation and, later, with the aim of urbanizing them.
In the early 1990s, as a result of the ecological restoration work carried out, the wetland and the plant and faunal communities typical of this ecosystem were recovered.
Salburua is a wetland area made up of several lagoons-Arcauteand Betoño are the main ones-, together with empradizados spaces and a small oak grove. Drained centuries ago to transform the area into crop fields, the recovery work begun in 1994 has reversed this situation and Salburua is currently one of the most valuable inland wetlands in the Basque Country, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and Site of Community Importance (SCI) within the European Natura 2000 Network.
The park can be visited through various itineraries that surround and connect the main lagoons. The Ataria Interpretation Center and two bird observatories help visitors learn about and enjoy the natural wealth of the area.