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A seagull illuminated with light, the night of Punta Umbria.
Poetic words from a statue situated on the promenade of P. Gil Mazo. |
By Jo Williams
The closest beach to Huelva City, this town is the
most popular resort along the Huelva Costa
de la Luz. During July and August it is overflowing with Spanish
visitors and it's worth booking accommodation in advance at this
time. It sits on the banks of the Río Odiel
river estuary and is surrounded by extensive salt marshes, which
make up the El Paraje Natural Marismas del Odiel,
the most important nature reserve in the area after the Parque Nacional
Coto Donaña.
Historically, the first holidaymakers were the British
employees of the Rio Tinto Mining
Company who started to arrive here at the end of the nineteenth
century. The mining company obtained permission in 1896 to construct
a sanatorium. Instead, they built 12 colonial-style wooden houses,
raised off the ground and with wide verandahs, for the convalescence
of the company's miners and managers in the summer. This so-called
Barrio Inglés has since been demolished,
but the area retains the name Los Ingleses and a few houses in this
style still stand today. One is opposite the harbour on the Paseo
de la Ría opposite the harbour. In 2003 the town
decided to resurrect its heritage with a reconstruction of one of
these typical British houses, which is now a museum, the Casa
Museo de los Ingleses.
 In the 1920s Spanish visitors started to take their
holidays here, when a ferry link from Huelva was established with
steam boats crossing to carry tourists. During the summer, boats
known as canoas still run today between Huelva and Punta Umbría
at regular intervals.
There are some superb beaches running along the
south side of the punta (point). The closest beach to the town is
the Playa La Mata Negra, lined with many restaurants,
bars and summer chiringuitos. This beach has the best facilities,
including parasols and hammocks for hire, showers, toilets and lifeguard.
Windsurfing, sailing and boat trips are among the activities offered
locally. Just outside Punta Umbría on the A497 road to Huelva
city is Camping Playa La Bota, claiming to be Andalucía's
first ecological campsite, with wooden cabins for rent. From here
there are several good walks over the Paraje Natural Marismas del
Odiel and the protected area of La Laguna de El Portil.
The sunset over the harbour is worth seeing from
one of the many bars that line the waterfront; the view is slightly
marred, however, by Huelva's petrol refineries and factories that
can be seen across the estuary. Running parallel to the waterfront
Paseo de la Ría is the busy pedestrianised main shopping
street, Calle Ancha. Here there is a good choice of bars and restaurants
to sample some of Punta Umbría's great seafood, much of which
is caught locally. In April there is the town's local Festival
de la Chirla y la Coquina (clam festival) but these shellfish
specialities of Punta Umbría are served in restaurants all
over the town. During the summer months there are many late-night
bars and clubs open around Calle Ancha. Also worth seeing is the
15m-high Torre de la Umbría look-out tower,
which was built in 1614 to watch for Berber pirate ships. If the
boats were sighted, a fire would be lit on top of the tower to send
out a warning signal.
In keeping with Punta Umbría's rich maritime
heritage, the festival in July celebrating the Virgen del Carmen,
the patron saint of the town and of the sea, is an important one.
The statue of the Virgen del Carmen is paraded through the streets
to the beach and then taken out to sea in a fishing boat, a tradition
believed to have originated in the Costa de la Luz.
The town is surrounded by a total of three protected
areas. The most important is the extensive El Paraje Natural
Marismas del Odiel reserve, declared a biosphere reserve
by UNESCO, which is situated at the mouth of the River Odiel. It
stretches for 7,000ha between Huelva city, Punta Umbría,
Gibraleón and Aljaraque and can be accessed by any of these
places. The reserve is famous for its distinctive wetland flora
and fauna. It is an important stopping place for migratory birds
and is home to a third of Europe's spoonbill population. In winter
there are many aquatic birds here, including thousands of flamingos.
To explore the marismas there are several senderos (footpaths) with
birdwatching sites starting from near the vistors' centre Centro
de Vistantes Calatilla (Tel: 959 509 011), just outside Huelva city
off the Punta Umbría road. The centre has an exhibition about
the marismas and information about footpaths and guided tours.
The nearest nature reserve to Punta Umbría
is the 2km-long stretch of sand dunes, El Paraje Natural
los Enebrales, which runs along the beach from Punta Umbría
to La Bota beach and is accessible by footpath or cycleway. The
small freshwater lagoon in the Paraje Natural La Laguna
de El Portil has many breeding birds including black-necked
grebes. It has three birdwatching observation hides.
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