Playa de la Hita, Protected beach in Region of Murcia, Spain.

Playa de la Hita covers 28 hectares of sand, salt marsh and reed bed on the Mar Menor, shared between the municipalities of Los Alcázares and San Javier. A carrizal of Phragmites australis runs along almost its whole length, and the sea lavender Limonium cossonianum, which sheds excess salt through its leaves, gives parts of the ground a whitish look.

Playa de la Hita lies in the municipalities of Los Alcázares and San Javier, on the Mar Menor, and is listed as a ZEPIM protected area for its habitats used by migratory birds. Its surface covers 28 ha of sand, salt marsh and reedbed of Phragmites australis. In the last twenty years the reedbed has almost doubled in size, with the loss of a third of the open water, owing to freshwater inputs at surface level and in an underlying layer.

The beach lies within the Mar Menor, declared a ZEPIM (Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance). Its reed beds of Phragmites australis shelter nesting black-winged stilts, little terns, great reed warblers and grey herons, and sea lavender (Limonium cossonianum) exudes excess salt through its leaves, giving the vegetation a whitish look.

Access is from the Los Alcázares promenade at Los Narejos, just past Playa de las Salinas, or via a turn-off from the N-332 towards the Mar Menor camp, whose beach marks the northern limit. The sand and saltmarsh give way to reed beds along almost the whole length, so walkers stay on the open shore.

The beach is listed as a ZEPIM (Special Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance) and is one of the few wild beaches left on the Mar Menor. Its reed bed has almost doubled in size over the last twenty years, fed by freshwater at the surface and in a layer beneath it.