Albufera Natural Park

Albufera is Spain's largest lake, and was originally a saltwater bay gradually separated from the sea by a large spit, which finally closed off the lagoon in the Roman period. Fishing has always been the primary human activity in the area. The reclamation of land for growing rice began in the 17th century, which drastically reduced the surface area of the lake from approximately 30,000 to 2,800 hectares. Over time the water also became more diluted, and today is mostly freshwater. In the mid-twentieth century the lake was further threatened by rampant development. Since the establishment of the natural park in 1990 the region is now protected from further development, and there has been progress in reestablishing vital wetland areas. The Albufera provides summer breeding habitat for many birds, wintering grounds for others, and for still others is a critical layover spot during migration; in total more than 340 avian species have been identified here. Birds make good use of not only the lagoon itself but also the rice paddies surrounding it. The two-lane motorway CV-500 hugs the coast, connecting Valencia in the north with 39.3069-0.29661 El Perellonet in the south, before heading southwest toward 39.202-0.3112 Sueca . From 39.163-0.2563 Cullera in the south, CV-502 heads directly north toward El Perellonet. Traffic heading toward Valencia can get very congested on Sunday evenings; the only possibility to bypass this is to use CV-401, which begins just south of El Saler....