An Andalusian off-season trip for peace and harmony

Matalascañas is located in the far east of the province of Huelva in southern Spain's Andalucía region. Thanks to its picturesque landscapes and impressive natural scenery, this place is often used as a location for Hollywood films. At the same time, without the crowds and noise of the high season, this small town can be the perfect place to spend a weekend or even a few weeks.

Although the name Matalascañas sounds similar to the well-known Spanish word for ‘matador’, it has nothing to do with killing. Scientists believe that the name actually consists of three words: ‘mata las cañas’, where ‘mata’ means a plot of land planted with trees of the same species. ‘Cañas’ refers to the straight, elongated stems of certain plants, such as reeds, which are used as natural fibre for making ropes. Such plants grow in lagoons and swamps that temporarily form among the dunes after rains. Their thickets are called ‘junqueras’ by local people. Matalascañas was probably once a ‘place inhabited by reeds’.

If you visit Matalascanas at this time of year and walk through the streets, you are unlikely to meet anyone. However, it is a large built-up area that stretches for kilometres. There are villas, mansions and multi-storey buildings here. All this infrastructure is designed for the summer season, when many people come to Matalascañas to spend weeks and months in an extraordinary natural environment. Statistics show that Matalascañas welcomes around 150,000 holidaymakers during the summer months.

However, when summer ends, the town becomes completely deserted. Total silence reigns, sometimes interrupted by a small train on wheels passing through the streets and again - often without passengers. There are no people on the town bus. The windows in the houses are closed with shutters or curtains and completely dark. Most restaurants are also closed. One cannot help but get the impression that for some reason the town has been abandoned. However, the only reason is the off-season, and what you can expect in autumn and winter is peace and relaxation.

Autumn is the best time to visit Matalascañas if you want to find harmony and enjoy natural beauty without unnecessary noise and bustle. The town is separated from Doñana National Park by the northern road, and the park's coastline is marked with protective posts. Here, wild animals come very close and seem to be happy to be photographed. The dunes and pine forests frame Matalascañas and thereby create a fantastic picturesque setting with wooden walking trails.

A walk through the town itself can be quite interesting. The fact is that there are no street names in Matalascañas. Administratively, the town is divided into 27 sectors, 20 of which are named in alphabetical order from west to east, from A to T (except for Ñ), with each letter corresponding to a term related to the local nature.

Matalascañas is known for offering an impressive selection of outdoor activities. Traditionally, people here travelled on horseback and often along the beach, right by the water. Here the sand is very hard due to the tides. Today, locals and tourists also use this surface, but mainly on bicycles. Many ride to the neighbouring town of Mazagón, covering dozens of kilometres. On the beach, you can see a string of camels carrying tourists on their backs. Aires Africanos in Matalascañas is home to camels that take people on tours in the dunes. Moreover, there is an equestrian centre here where you can book horse rides to Doñana.

The cats that live on the beach are no longer domesticated, but they are not quite wild. Being ginger, they blend in perfectly with the sand and can only be spotted when they come to the terraces of local restaurants to rest in the shade. There are also black cats in the town. Dogs are very welcome in Matalascañas. In summer, they have their own kilometre-long beach, and in the off-season, the city beach belongs entirely to them. In addition to the many birds, the sky is filled with paragliders. Matalascañas has a 20-kilometre cliff made of dunes of varying heights, where you can fly for hours on a paraglider on a gentle dynamic lift.

Pets are welcome at Moon Dreams Hotel, one of the few hotels in Matalascañas that is open all year round. It is particularly friendly to newlyweds, gay and elderly people.

The hotel, built in the Andalusian ‘cortijo’ style with patios reminiscent of the courtyards of the Alhambra, is apparently the liveliest place in Matalascañas throughout the year.

It is a place where you can stay at affordable prices, swim in the outdoor pool even in cooler months and eat well in the restaurant or have a snack or drinks in the café. This is important, as 90% of all restaurants and cafés in the town are closed during the off-season.

The hotel's general manager, Jorge Real, told SUR in English that more and more foreign tourists are choosing Matalascañas and this hotel to spend a few quiet days or even weeks here.

"We are open all year round and offer breakfast, lunch and dinner all day long. In October this year, we even opened a bar that helps people enjoy Matalascañas until late at night." This means that nights in Matalascañas become increasingly enjoyable during the autumn off-season. So, a couple of hours by car and you will find yourself in an oasis of unspoilt nature, tranquillity and quality relaxation in Matalascañas washed by the Atlantic ocean.