Andalusian Wild West Route

The Tabernas Desert is located between the Sierra de los Filabres (to the north) and the Sierra Alhamilla (to the southwest) and covers an area of 280 km². It lies within the region of Andalusia.

Situated in the province of Almería, it is a protected landscape. With around 200 mm of annual rainfall, it is considered the only true desert in Europe (the classification requires less than 250 mm per year).

Tour details:

Price: €600 for the driver
€525 for the passenger
3 nights
Includes hotel and breakfast
1 dinner
Visits and stays in the famous Cuevas de Guadix
Park entrance included
Route through the Gorafe Desert, Tabernas Desert, Ronda, Granada, and Marbella
T-shirt included

In the past, Tabernas was the setting for many films and was even known as the “European Hollywood”. Filming began in the late 1950s, peaked during the 1960s and 70s, and declined in the 1980s. It is estimated that over 300 films have been shot here since the beginning, most of them Westerns. It was the capital of the Spaghetti Western (funded by Italian investors), gaining fame through the work of the renowned Italian director Sergio Leone. Classics filmed here include: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), featuring stars such as Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. Although the location was ideal for scenes with gunslingers and horses, scenes for other films were also shot here, such as: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Cleopatra (1963), Zorro (1974), Conan the Barbarian (1981), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Sons of Trinity (1995).

Fort Bravo (also known as Texas Hollywood) was created by Rafa Molina, a Spanish stuntman who acquired the set in 1977 for $6,000, hoping it would help his career. In the early 1980s, Rafa began charging a small fee to visitors who wanted to tour the village. Later, gunfight shows were introduced, and one of the buildings (the saloon) was converted into a bar and restaurant.