Ses Salines Natural Park – Salt Flats and Flamingos
Just 10 kilometres south of Ibiza Town, the Ses Salines Natural Park protects a vast wetland of working salt flats, dune systems and seagrass meadows that have been harvested since Phoenician times. It is the ecological counterweight to the island's party reputation — and utterly spectacular.
The Wildlife
Between July and October, greater flamingos feed in the shallow brine pools, their pink plumage absurdly vivid against the white salt mountains and the flat blue sky. Ospreys, Audouin's gulls and Kentish plovers are resident year-round; the park sits on a major migratory flyway, so spring and autumn bring warblers, herons and raptors passing through.
The seagrass meadows of Posidonia oceanica offshore are among the oldest and most extensive in the Mediterranean — they are the reason the water at Ses Salines beach is that particular shade of impossible turquoise. The meadows are legally protected and anchor the entire marine ecosystem.
Ses Salines Beach
At the park's southern edge, Ses Salines beach is consistently rated one of the most beautiful in Europe: a long curve of white sand backed by fragrant juniper and pine, with water shallow enough to wade 50 metres from shore. It attracts a fashionable crowd in high season but remains genuinely beautiful rather than merely famous.
The northern end of the beach near the salt flat access road is quieter than the main stretch and gives you the best chance of seeing flamingos from the shore. A wooden boardwalk leads through the dunes and is clearly signed from the car park.
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