At the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà you watch birds from hides along flat paths that start at El Cortalet; the easiest reaches Mas del Matà, 4.5 km there and back. El Cortalet opens from 9 h to 18:30 h until 24 October and from 9 h to 17 h from 25 October. Entry is free; parking costs 5 €.
Across the bay of Roses, between the mouths of the Fluvià and the Muga, the plain fills with ponds, flood meadows and reed beds. These are the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, a natural park since 28 October 1983 and, according to the Catalan government, one of the main wetlands in Catalonia alongside the Ebro and Llobregat deltas. You explore them on foot, along flat paths, and what you come to see is birds.
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What you see: El Cortalet and the hides
The main entrance is El Cortalet, an old cortal, the typical Empordà livestock farmhouse, converted to house the information centre, the park headquarters and a nature classroom. The main trails start here, and this is where you pick up maps and leaflets to find your way.
What makes the walk special are the hides: shelters that let you get close to the wildlife without being seen or disturbing it. The park's facilities page counts 30 observation points, 14 of them hides; the park's fact sheet on the same website speaks of «more than 25 hides». Some have their own names, such as the Aguait d'en Quim Franch or the Aguait d'en Biel.
The easiest walk is trail 1, from El Cortalet to Mas del Matà: 4.5 km there and back, 1 h 15 min and 1 metre of climbing, graded very easy. It ends at the Observatorio Senillosa, one of the four towers once used to dry rice, turned into a lookout in 1996, with views over the part of the wetlands closest to the sea.
Which birds, and when
The park's website counts 338 bird species recorded, 82 of them regular breeders (its general fact sheet says 336). The best seasons, it says, are the migrations, from March to May and from August to October, when the most species gather, and the best times of day are early morning and dusk.
In winter the Aiguamolls are the second most important area in Catalonia for waterbirds, after the Ebro delta. Cattle egrets come in their thousands, mallards are usually counted in thousands too, and there are large flocks of golden plover and lapwing. Flamingos spend the winter here or stop over mid-migration.
Spring is breeding season: purple heron, marsh harrier, purple swamphen, black-winged stilt and many pairs of bee-eaters. The white stork, reintroduced, has bred in the park since 1987 and is one of the birds you see most. The park's emblem is the garganey, which when the park was created was the only waterbird that in the whole Iberian Peninsula bred regularly only in these wetlands; today it is considered extinct as a breeder, having last nested here in 1997.
The park's fact sheet also lists fallow deer among what you may come across. To see any of it, bring binoculars, clothes that blend in, and keep quiet. And mosquito repellent all year round, one without picaridin, which is highly toxic to amphibians.
Opening times and prices
The El Cortalet information centre opens Monday to Sunday from 9 h to 18:30 h from 1 March to 24 October, and from 9 h to 17 h from 25 October to 28 February. The Matà information centre opens from 28 March to 24 June, every day, from 9 h to 14 h, and from 9 October to 6 December on Fridays to Sundays and public holidays, from 9 h to 14 h.
Entry to the park is free. What you pay for is the El Cortalet car park, 5 €, according to the Castelló d'Empúries tourist office: to drive out you need to collect the ticket at the information centre, and when it is closed the barriers are left open. Groups of more than 15 people must give notice.
Dogs and what is not allowed
Dogs are welcome, but on a lead. Camping, lighting fires and picking plants or taking animals are not allowed, and cars stay in the car parks: the trails are closed to vehicles and some are closed to bicycles too. More than 80 % of the park is private land, and many paths run past crops and pastures with livestock, so keep off the fields and leave the animals be.
Getting there from Cadaqués
By car you first drive down to Roses, as our guide on getting to Cadaqués explains, and from there follow the C-260 towards Figueres. At the large roundabout at Castelló d'Empúries, take the southern exit towards Sant Pere Pescador and L'Escala, also signposted «AIGUAMOLLS». About three kilometres on, past a petrol station, an asphalt track turns off to the left near a riding stable and leads to El Cortalet, at km 4.2 of the GIV-6216.
Without a car, Moventis line 12 links Cadaqués bus station with Castelló d'Empúries in 48 minutes, according to its timetable for 1 September to 31 December 2026. From Castelló, the park suggests walking or cycling along the GR-92 or the Ruta dels Estanys: it is about five kilometres to El Cortalet.
Checked
Checked in October 2026 on the website of the Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà (parcsnaturals.gencat.cat: home page, key facts, park fact sheet, facilities, trails, birds, advice and how to get there), the park page of the Castelló d'Empúries tourist office (castelloempuriabrava.com) and the Moventis line 12 timetable for 1 September to 31 December 2026.
Quick questions
When is the best time to see birds at the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà?
During the migrations, from March to May and from August to October, when there are most species, and in the early morning or at dusk.
Can you bring a dog to the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà?
Yes, but dogs must be kept on a lead.
How do you get there from Cadaqués?
By car, via Roses and the C-260 towards Figueres to the Castelló d'Empúries roundabout, then towards Sant Pere Pescador to El Cortalet. By bus, Moventis line 12 reaches Castelló d'Empúries in 48 minutes.