Vitoria-Gasteiz: The Green Ring
Basque Country, Spain
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Anillo Verde
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250
XP
+100 Spain
= 350 total
1 day
Vitoria-Gasteiz: The Green Ring
250 + 100 XP
Vitoria-Gasteiz was the European Green Capital in 2012, and the reason is the Anillo Verde — a ring of restored parks and wetlands right round the edge of the city, made mostly out of degraded ground: old gravel pits, drained marsh, industrial land. Counting it, Vitoria has about forty-two square metres of green space per inhabitant, among the highest in Europe. Salburua inside the ring is one of the most important sites in the Basque Country for breeding waterbirds, with around two hundred species, plus European mink and red deer introduced in the late 1990s whose autumn rut now draws people out of the city. Inside the ring is a medieval almond-shaped old town built in concentric streets on a hill.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Cycle or walk the full Anillo Verde circuit round the edge of the city
2
of 5
Go to the Salburua wetlands, one of the most important breeding sites for waterbirds in the Basque Country, with around two hundred species recorded
3
of 5
Come in autumn for the deer rut at Salburua — the animals were introduced in the late 1990s and the berrea now happens inside the city boundary
4
of 5
Walk the medieval almond — the old town's concentric streets running round the hill
5
of 5
Work out what forty-two square metres of green space per inhabitant means when you are standing in the middle of it
Cycle or walk the full Anillo Verde circuit round the edge of the city
Go to the Salburua wetlands, one of the most important breeding sites for waterbirds in the Basque Country, with around two hundred species recorded
Come in autumn for the deer rut at Salburua — the animals were introduced in the late 1990s and the berrea now happens inside the city boundary
Walk the medieval almond — the old town's concentric streets running round the hill
Work out what forty-two square metres of green space per inhabitant means when you are standing in the middle of it
Before you go
The red deer rut at Salburua in autumn, inside the city boundary.
Vitoria sits high on the Álava plain and is cold and wet for much of the year — dress for it.
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About Basque Country
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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