Surroundings

SALT VALLEY-SALINAS DE AÑANA

The Salt Valley, in the Alava locality of Añana, located 30 kilometres west of Vitoria, is spread over an area of 21.92 km² and is one of Europe's most spectacular and best preserved cultural landscapes. Declared a National Historical Monument in 1984, it is currently a candidate to become a World Heritage Site due to its ethnographic and tourist value. In addition to producing salt, whose profits and quality have been internationally recognized since 1851 (awarded a prize at the Great Exhibition in London), its heritage includes archaeological remains from the mediaeval period, which are in study and recovery; smithies, forges and furnaces in a perfect state of conservation; a church, chapels and the last working convent of the Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem; and several palaces or mansions. Close to the town there is also an important site with traces of animals and vegetation from some twenty-two million years ago.


VALLE SALADO