Tablas de Daimiel

The Tablas form where the Guadiana and the Ciguela overflow their banks across a flat plain, creating shallow sheets of water among reed and cut sedge, a habitat once widespread on the Mancha plain and now almost gone. It became a national park in 1973 and holds large numbers of wintering ducks, along with herons, marsh harriers, grebes and, when conditions allow, breeding waterbirds. The park's problem is water: the aquifer beneath has been drawn down heavily for irrigation over decades, and the wetland has repeatedly dried out, at times almost entirely, requiring emergency transfers from other basins. Boardwalks and hides run through a small accessible section from the visitor centre.

What you actually see

• The shallow tables - sheets of water spreading among reed beds.
• The wintering ducks - large flocks from autumn through winter.
• The boardwalk route - a short accessible circuit with hides.
• The water crisis - visible evidence of drying and aquifer depletion.

When to go

November to April, when water levels are highest and wintering birds are present; summer often finds the wetland reduced or dry. Checking the park's water situation before travelling is genuinely worthwhile.

Honest expectations

The park has been dry or nearly dry in several recent years, and a visit can find bare cracked mud instead of wetland. The accessible area is small, a couple of kilometres of boardwalk. Facilities are limited to the visitor centre.

Nearby

Daimiel town is close; Almagro and Ciudad Real lie southwest.