A movie-like trip
One third of Huelva is a protected natural area, which speaks to the many opportunities to encounter one-of-a-kind landscapes with a unique story here.
On the Huelva coast, the meeting of the Atlantic Ocean with the mouths of rivers such as the Guadiana and Guadalquivir creates an environment where endless beaches of golden dunes mingle with meandering waterways that crisscross the vast grassy plains of the marshes.
The mountainous area to the North offers a rugged landscape populated by ancient trees, trails and riverside forests where trees grow to the sound of streams and springs. The gently undulating meadow of Central Province have allowed local dwellers to establish an extensive kingdom of bountiful farmlands and to penetrate the bowels of the earth through a strong mingling traditionthat has lived through the generations and altered the topography of the landscape, creating a surreal, almost otherworldly setting.
Meanwhile, the city of Huelva, with centuries of history behind it, mixes and matches the sepia charm of its former colonial neighbourhood with the red of the sunsets on the dock and the metallic almost science-fiction like hues of the lofty chimneys that rise in the industrial part of the capital.
Its light, its colours, its spectacular landscapes, culture and unspoilt nature make a Huelva a filmmakers' paradise.
Huelva offers a wide range of facilities to carry out all kinds of audiovisual productions. Locations are easily accessible, since there are no insurmountable obstacles, neither geographical nor administrative. Administrative processes are facilitated by the Provincial Tourist Board of Huelva, which aids the process of accessing the unique settings of the region.
In Huelva, Air is Light
The relationship between water and Huelva is a strong one, permeating the entire geography of the county.
You can see it in the south, where beaches meet pine forests, marshes and wild nature.
You can see it in the great central strip of the province, along the course of the rivers Guadiana, Piedras, Odiel and Tinto and the large hydro-complexes that collect its waters.
You can see it in the meandering streams, at the mouth of water springs, in the brooks and waterfalls that cross forests of chestnuts, poplars, willows and riparian plants.
There is no manual on how to find the perfect film setting. However, if there were one, its writer would probably talk at length about getting the right light. And Huelva is full of light.
In Huelva, light is the principal building material for all its scenery. It is, like air, the only element that is always part of the Huelva's landscapes, notwithstanding the diversity of the latter.
Be it the pink and white morning light or the deep sunset red of the evening, seen from a peak of the mountainous sierra or from the seashore, the Huelva light shapes and exalts the scenery, giving the Huelva landscape its distinctive feel.
golden, red and green
The terrain of the province of Huelva forms a gentle slope that has its lowest point in the golden coastal plain and its highest point in the green mountains of Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche.
Both ends are connected by a large strip occupying the gentle hillocks and meadows of Andevalo, the red Cuenca Minera (mining basin) and the unique countryside scenery that is particular to the county.
This is a land of contrasts between different landscapes, the result of the distinctive orography of the region and, of course, of human activity, which has shaped the physiognomy of the area.
Huelva has been inhabited by mankind for thousands of years. A multitude of archaeological remains and funerary architecture such as dolmens form part of the heritage of the ancient civilizations that lived here, such as the Tartessians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Andalusians, who lay the foundations for the way of life of the region.
The discovery of America is perhaps the historical event that has most shaped the history of Huelva to this day and left a strong impact on Huelva.
More recently, Huelva was marked by England's colonial past, as Britons owned and worked the mines of Huelva province until well into the 20th century. The stunning excavations of abandoned factories and mining basins of Cuenca Minera, were transformed by time but their remains, standing to this day, are almost flawlessly intact.
Today, Huelva perfectly combines tradition and modernity. Old bullrings, pottery kilns, flocks of pigeons, large beehives, livestock and poultry farms, old-school bodegas, villas, buildings with stunning frescoes. all mixing other wonders of the natural environment. The landscape changes with the seasons but always has an undeniable emotional and visual force, such as for example the processions that occur during Holy Week and our traditional festivals.