Altafulla

Altafulla is a municipality in the comarca of the Tarragonès in Catalonia, Spain. The town of Altafulla has a beautifully intact old quarter crowned by the Castle of Altafulla, an additional medieval castle on a small promontory overlooking the sea (Castle of the Marquises of Tamarit, not open to the public) and an old fishing quarter dating back to the 18th century along the beach, called "Baixamar" or "Les Botigues del Mar". Beyond the Castle of Tamarit is one of the last remaining forests stretching along the sea in Catalonia, part of which is a small nature preserve (under the Tamarit-Punta de la Móra Special Environmental and Landscape Protection Plan). It is also home to the remains of the Roman Villa of Els Munts, which is part of a larger UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Gaià River "empties" into the sea here, its last stretch being a small nature preserve and haven for songbirds (Reserva Natural de Fauna Salvatge de la Desembocadura del Gaià - Gaià River Estuary Wildlife Preserve), though due to damming upriver, it carries very little water at this last section, forming a tiny salt marsh separated from the sea by a bar of sand. This wildlife preserve is run by L'Hort de la Sínia, an ecological agriculture, learning and activities center.