Spain

Spain is far more mountainous and wild than its beach-resort image suggests: after Switzerland it is one of Europe's highest countries, with the snow-capped Sierra Nevada, the dramatic limestone Picos de Europa, the Pyrenees, and the volcanic Canary Islands, where Tenerife's Teide rises to 3,715 m, the highest point in all of Spain.

Sixteen national parks, a vast network of long-distance trails including the famous Camino de Santiago, and a warm, sociable culture make Spain a superb and varied outdoor destination across very different climates and regions.

Walk the Camino de Santiago across northern Spain, trek the Picos de Europa and Pyrenees, climb in the Costa Blanca and El Chorro, surf and hike the green Basque and Atlantic coasts, and hike volcanic trails in Teide and Lanzarote's Timanfaya. The Sierra Nevada even offers skiing within sight of the Mediterranean.

Spring and autumn are ideal for hiking, the Camino, and the hot interior and south; summer suits the green north, the high Pyrenees, and the beaches, while the Canary Islands are mild year-round. Winter brings skiing in the Sierra Nevada and Pyrenees and pleasant southern days.

Spain shelters the rare Iberian lynx (the world's most endangered cat, now recovering), Iberian wolves, brown bears in the Cantabrians, and Spanish ibex, while Doñana's wetlands and Extremadura host imperial eagles, flamingos, and millions of migrating birds bound for Africa.

The Iberian Meseta is a high central plateau ringed by mountain ranges — the Pyrenees, Cantabrians, Sierra Nevada, and Sistema Central — while the Canary Islands are volcanic, with Teide an active stratovolcano. Limestone karst forms the Picos de Europa and countless gorges and caves.

Spain's landscapes carry Roman, Moorish, and medieval Christian heritage — aqueducts, the Alhambra, and pilgrimage roads — across a country unified in the late 15th century and shaped by its Atlantic empire. Prehistoric cave art at Altamira reaches back 36,000 years.

Spanish outdoor life is famously social — long lunches, festivals, and the communal spirit of the Camino — set among Moorish gardens, Roman ruins, and vineyard country. Regional identities, from Basque to Andalusian, give each area its own food, language, and landscape.

Walk the Camino in spring or autumn to avoid summer heat, and book refuges in the Picos and Pyrenees ahead. Match region to season — the green north in summer, the south and interior in the shoulder seasons — and pair hiking with Spain's tapas and festival culture.