Valle Salado de Añana, 3 reasons to visit it

Salt Valley of Añana, a wonder of nature.

Tourism always goes hand in hand with history, since the history of a place is what gives it life and interest. In this case, we have before us one of the most unique sites in the Basque Country, either because of the landscape, architecture and geology of the area or because of its 6,500 years of history. The salt valley is located in the municipality of Salinas de Añana in Alava, Basque Country. The first thing we are going to do is to leave you an incredible video of the salt valley of Salinas de Añana:

We are sure that after the video you have no doubt that this is a place with history, tradition and charm, so everything, we will cite some reasons why we believe this visit is a must.

–Part of the salt valley for a day: The project that is being carried out in the salt valley of Salinas de Añana gives us the opportunity to be part of its recovery for a day. A unique experience! During the visit to this salt valley you will appreciate its curious architecture formed by thousands of terraces, they will explain why salt can be obtained from this place, you will learn how is the process of elaboration of the same and you can follow some of the wooden channels that carry salt water to its destination at some point in the 120,000 square meters that has this salt valley!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–ONQ86UltM

–Salt Spa: In addition to enjoying everything mentioned above, you have the opportunity to enjoy the Salinas de Añana salt spa and its health benefits. Imagine being able to put your feet and hands in hypersaline water, an experience difficult to obtain in other places.

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–Quality: The Añana salt mines give us the opportunity to taste and savor one of the best salts in the world, the Añana salt. This salt is the result of the natural evaporation of the brine from the springs of Salinas de Añana. Thanks to its crystallization by means of the sun, the wind and traditional techniques, we can have in our hands one of the best artisan salts.

Surely you are already planning a trip to this emblematic place, if on the other hand you are still not convinced, remember that it is declared a Monumental Site, is a wetland of international importance RAMSAR and is a candidate to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We leave you a table with the schedules of the Salt Valley of Salinas de Añana:

*Other visiting hours can be reserved as long as they are booked in advance by phone.

We leave you the data of the Salinas de Añana Valley, the phone number that appears on google is not correct, if you want to book you must call the phone: 945 35 11 11 11

The day has been simply perfect, perhaps, if we want to be punctilious too hot. In case of going in summer, we recommend wearing a hat, visor or any article of similar characteristics. You have the opportunity to buy a hat in the same salt mines, thus obtaining a souvenir of your visit to the salt valley.

Upon arrival, just with the general view of the salt flats, we can get an idea of what awaits us. Lots of salt, lots of water and above all, lots of history, the history of a town dedicated to white gold.

canals of the añana salt flats

The visit: The generic visit helps us to understand the history and curiosities of this historic site along with the production of salt. From TurismoVasco.com we recommend to extend our stay and make the small salt tasting offered by the salt valley of Añana. The price of this activity is very low and the experience is worth it. This experience is done through different exercises proposed by the guides, making the tasting a more dynamic and didactic exercise.

At the end of the visit, we have the opportunity to enjoy the small natural spa at the entrance of the salt flats. This spa allows us to refresh our feet and hands in the salty waters of the valley, thus verifying the characteristics of this water personally. Remember to wear appropriate clothing.

We will not reveal the secrets of the visit, but we can tell you that you will be able to see how salt is obtained, the reason for the different types of salt, where the water from which the salt is extracted comes from and much more!

We leave you a little riddle to make you more interesting the visit to the salt mines of Añana, what is the red thing that can be seen in the photo?

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Attention: Do not hesitate to ask anything to the guides of the salt valley of Añana, they will gladly answer all of them. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our guide Ainhoa and Alberto from the area of culture and communication of the Añana salt mines for the treatment and kindness we have received.

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Store: What is perhaps most striking is the variety of flavors that can be found in the salt valley. These vary from wine flavor to garlic, through spicy touches such as cayenne and many other flavors. There are many chefs who use salt from the Añana Valley, and many of them have a small plot on the walk of fame of the Añana Salt Flats. An example of this are the restaurants Mugaritz or Azurmendi, a salt that has helped them to obtain the so longed Michelin star.

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Accreditations: The Añana Salt Valley has achieved several accreditations throughout its short life. For our part, it has the exclusive tourist accreditation “TurismoVasco Tiketa” which accredits it as one of the places of greatest tourist interest in the Basque Country.

Tourism AccreditationVasco Tiketa

Do not miss the opportunity, the Añana Salt Mines are undoubtedly one of the best kept treasures of our land.