Playa de los Lances, Protected coastal reserve in Tarifa, Spain

Playa de los Lances is a 2,890-metre-long, 200-metre-wide beach of fine sand west of Tarifa, within the 226-hectare natural area declared in 1989. It has three parts: active primary dunes by the Atlantic with barrón, sea lily and sea grass; lower secondary dunes inland, partly used for parking and two housing estates; and the wetland of the Jara and Vega rivers between them, with salt-tolerant espartinas and almajos.

The natural area was declared a protected space in 1989, when it was included in the Inventory of Protected Natural Spaces of Andalusia. The designation covers 226 hectares of beach and the wetland at the mouths of the Jara and Vega rivers. It also forms part of the Parque Natural del Estrecho.

During the migration periods across the Strait of Gibraltar, the wetland of the Jara and Vega rivers hosts grey herons, black-crowned night herons, marsh harriers, black-winged stilts, and Kentish plovers, among other species. Birdwatchers time their visits to these passages.

The area offers parking spaces, showers, and marked pathways that help visitors explore while protecting the dunes. The pathways are designed so that visitors have safe access while keeping the sensitive habitats undisturbed.

At this location, freshwater and saltwater meet and create special ecosystems with plant species found nowhere else in the region. These particular conditions make the beach a place where scientists study nature.