Welcome
Welcome to the Virtual Tour of the Río Borosa Visitor Centre, located in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Nature Reserve in the province of Jaén. In this centre, you will be able to discover the assets of this Nature Reserve within the framework of the Network of Protected Natural Areas of Andalusia (RENPA) with a special focus on the Borosa River and its environment.
In this centre, the visitor can find a central space where the reception and the Natural Space shop converge, where they will be attended to and where they will have the chance to buy a product or two related to the environment, and also an area with information about the Network of Protected Natural Areas of Andalusia (RENPA).
Officially declared in 1986, with an expanse of 200,000 hectares, the largest in the Iberian Peninsula and the second largest in Europe, this nature reserve boasts landscapes of extraordinary beauty with summits reaching almost 2,000 metres in height and deep forests.
In addition, its rich cultural and ethnographic heritage and the intelligent management of resources, which have been practised by its inhabitants throughout history, have won it the declaration of Biosphere Reserve.
Through the exhibition you can discover the natural and cultural values and resources of the Natural Park. The exhibition is divided into eight themed areas and the visit offers the keys to fully interpreting the resources and assets of the Natural Park.
The exhibition not only invites you to learn about the riverside and all their ecological, geological or cultural peculiarities. It also permits you to enter its waters. The ambience of its different exhibition spaces immerses the visitor in a world of colours and textures inspired by the blue lighting that dominates the underwater fluvial environments.
In these links you can find more information about this Protected Natural Area with downloadable material such as the offer of trails, opening hours, how to get there, map with all the public use equipment, etc.
Borosa River Visitor Center: lajunta.es/3sq8c
Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park: lajunta.es/3oqg9
Complete your visit with ecotourism experiences with local companies. You can check the offer at the following link: ecoturismoandaluz.com
For activities aimed at the educational community, associations of people with functional diversity and local population, you can access through the link: reservatuvisita.ecoturismoandaluz.com
The veins of the Natural Park
In this exhibition you can see a map and model showing the rivers of the Nature Reserve, including the Borosa River. Apart from this river, there is a rich fluvial network: this is the source of both the Guadalquivir and the Segura, two of the main rivers in the south and east of the Peninsula.
The riverside forest
It’s time to start a tour of the Borosa River basin. First to its banks, where a forest immerses the visitor in a tactile experience where you can guess each species by touching its trunk.
Ways of life
The rivers provide a habitat to a multitude of plant and animal life. Life is not possible without water. All living beings need it, but some more than others, with their mere existence linked to the constant presence of water. They are aquatic communities formed of different species of plants and animals.
A walk along their banks allows us to learn about them. But there are several rivers in the same river, since the three parts into which we can divide it (high, middle and reservoirs), are very different from each other. The illustration shows the ecological differences between them and the most visible associated microorganisms.
The riverbanks also provide a habitat to a significant bird community. The illustration shows a series of nests of different bird species that can be observed in the natural park's waterways. It identifies species such as the penduline tit, great crested grebe, kingfisher, wren or common blackbird by their song and the shape of their nests.
In general terms, this Park is home to a valuable endemic flora and abundant populations of hoofed animals and raptors, as well as a rich historical and cultural heritage.
The soundtrack to the landscape
The landscapes can not only be seen, but also heard. In this audiovisual space, you can listen to the particular sounds of the riverbanks. With a few clues, the visitor can guess what each sound is.
Waterways
This section is devoted to explaining the geomorphological characteristics of the river system in the Nature Reserve: how the rivers are formed, the routes they follow, what footprint they leave on the land they flow through, where they change their youthful impetus for a mature serenity, etc.
On the higher slopes, the river erodes the substrate, dragging materials which are eventually deposited where the river course leads it.
Immerse yourself in the river
The aquariums allow you to observe the different species of fish from the Nature Reserve river. The dim, bluish lighting and iridescent reflections emitted by the panels between the aquariums create an underwater atmosphere.
The species you can see in normal conditions are: rainbow trout, common trout, eel, comilleja (Cobitis paludica), gudgeon and river crab.
The exploitation of the forests
Forests and rivers are very connected, they need each other. Without water there can be no trees, and without trees, rainwater barely infiltrates the soil, springs dry up and slopes erode.
The forests have been exploited for thousands of years. In this module you can observe the tools used for forestry work, as well as some of products obtained. Traditionally obtained from these forests are: miera (medicinal oil), resin, coal and vegetable tar, essences, wild fruits, mushrooms, game, etc. All of them have been exploited since ancient times, a fine example of sustainable development.
The visitor will also see how forestry exploitation has evolved throughout history.
The water in your life
Water is fundamental for life, but it’s not always made good use of. This area invites you to reflect on this fact and offers some practical water saving tips.