Southern Spain
Villa Matilde
Located north of the typical Andalusian town of Andujar, the villa sits right on the edge of the wonderful Parque Natural Sierra de Andújar. Accommodation is in a converted rural mansion built in 1926 with some of the original interior still present. Rooms are fairly simple but atmospheric and feature ensuite bathrooms. Tasty homemade meals are offered in the dining room or out on the terrace featuring plenty of organic and home grown produce. Facilities include a swimming pool with views over the nearby forested hills and a homely lounge and terrace for relaxing and al fresco meals. Mercedes and Roland, the friendly and welcoming hosts speak fluent English and offer a wealth of knowledge on the local area.
Facilities
Private bathrooms, al fresco dining, Wi-Fi and a swimming pool.
Local Wildlife
Iberian lynx are the highlight and the villa sits within the territory of a female, but nearby are many hotspots for sightings of this elusive cat. Red and fallow deer, wild boar, mouflon sheep, Spanish ibex, Iberian hare, European rabbit, Eurasian otter and genet are among the other regularly spotted mammals. Birdlife is exceptional too with the rare Spanish imperial eagle, golden eagle, booted eagle, griffon and cinerous vultures, goshawk, chough, hawfinch, subapline, Western bonelli's and Sardinian warblers, hoopoe, Iberian green woodpecker and much more. The park is also rich in reptile and amphibian life with colourful ocellated lizards and Iberian midwife toads found in the grounds.
Optional Activities
Wildlife watching tours, cultural and historical tours and nature walks.
John Melton
Area Specialist
For the best lynx watching travel from December to April.
If you have any questions regarding our Spain tours, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
…Thank you for putting together yet another amazing trip…(our guide) looked after us very well, so please thank them on our behalf, they were a delight. We are glad that the original guide of choice decided that he didn’t want to guide us as (our guide) is an exceptional naturalist. He has great knowledge, not only of the Lynx and birds but also plants, trees, bushes, insects and Geology. He made our trip very special by amending our programme several times to take in different sites and bird watching at different and better times. He was also most attentive, organising an excellent lunch on the day we transferred to Tres Cantos and brought breakfasts for us when the second hotel let us down, and lunchtime pizzas when we stayed out all day to watch the Bee-eaters at their busy time. We would strongly recommend that they becomes your first choice guide … Hotel La Caminera was excellent. The views from the hotel were wonderful. The rooms and service were excellent with amazing bathrooms, as was the food and general ambiance of the place. We would certainly recommend its use to others … We were very lucky with our wildlife sightings and the local guides at all venues were most helpful. At Penalajo Estate we couldn’t have got off to a better start. On the first morning around 9am, a female Lynx ran across the track in front of us followed by ……. 3 cubs (around 2 months old). They settled down just behind some bushes but with the female facing out into the open. The cubs made brief appearances out into the open. After a while the female disappeared, coming back into view carrying a rabbit and they headed off up the track but returning a little later. The local guides were amazed. One – they had not been seen by anyone before us and had not been picked up on the camera traps! Two – they were early in the season. Certainly they were not seen by anyone else for a couple of days at least. We had a bonus view of a Lynx sitting in the window of the derelict farm on our way back at lunchtime.
