After the Maratón de Almagro: Las Tablas de Daimiel

The Route: Almagro → Daimiel → Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park → Almagro Logistics: Car, about 40 minutes each way. No public transport reaches the park. Level boardwalks and earth paths. Marathon Month: January Duration: Day trip

Almagro ──(about 40 mins by car via Daimiel)──> Las Tablas de Daimiel ──(about 40 mins)──> Almagro

The Maratón de Almagro is 14 laps of the same flat circuit. The best recovery outing nearby is flat too, but it could not be more different: a wetland in the middle of the dry La Mancha plain, where the Guadiana and Cigüela rivers spread out into shallow lagoons and reed beds known as tablas. Spain made it a national park in 1973.

January at Las Tablas de Daimiel is the season for wintering birds. Ducks such as mallard, teal, shoveler and red-crested pochard gather on the open water, with grey herons and great egrets in the reeds; cranes winter on the fields of the surrounding plain. Mornings are cold, often frosty, and the light is low and clear. The park's water level varies a great deal from year to year: it has shrunk badly in droughts, as the aquifer beneath it has been pumped for farming, and in March 2026 it reached its maximum flooded area of about 1,500 hectares for the first time in years. Check the park's current water status before going.

There is no public transport to the park. Drive to Daimiel, about 25 minutes north-west of Almagro, and follow the signs 11 km to the visitor centre. Entry to the park is free.

The boardwalks

From the visitor centre, marked routes of a few kilometres cross the lagoons on wooden boardwalks and follow earth paths along the banks. The Isla del Pan route, the most popular, loops out over the water to a small island. The walkways are level, with bird hides and benches along the way; the whole circuit takes an hour or so at an easy pace. Binoculars make a big difference.

The visitor centre explains how the tablas work and why they have come close to drying out. Check its opening hours; it keeps shorter hours in winter and closes on some days.

Daimiel

The town of Daimiel, on the way back, has a centre of low whitewashed houses and a couple of churches, and the Museo Comarcal, which covers the area's archaeology and wetlands. It is a good place for lunch before the drive to Almagro.

The return

Almagro is about 40 minutes from the park. The light goes early in January, around 18:00, so plan the birdwatching for the morning, when activity on the water is highest.