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“Yes it’s”the Bardena Blanca, the bit that everyone visits,” Mikel Ollo told my wife and me when the time came to arrive in Navarre. “They arrive to the west from Navarre, stay for about an hour or so there, take a few pictures and then leave. They don’t care about the other Bardenas.”Mikel is based in Pamplona is a favorite among people who do not bother with the rest of the Bardenas. In July, he receives visitors who want to do only one thing: riding through the bulls. Most stay for only one night. Even if they’ve purchased packages that include the walking tour with a guide, don’t be fooled by it senda viva.

In the south-east of Navarre, located in Northern Spain, Navarre is located in northern Spain’s south-east. Bardenas Reales (also known as Desert of Bardenas covers a staggering 100,000 acres of terrain. The journey, which took us 43 kilometres through a distinctive luna-like landscape, we were not only shocked visually, but also reveals, by its inexplicably visible evidence of erosion, the semi-deserts tale of its development over time. Discover the exact path we travelled from our campervan across this stunning Natural Park, including a Bardenas Reales map to assist you to plan your route.

In the time of GPS and Google Maps, there is only one cartographer who gets by saying, “Here are dragons”. George R R Martin, the author of A Song of Fire and Ice, The medieval fantasy that the HBO television show Game of Thrones is based on. The continents Westeros, Essos and Sothoryos are fictionalized by Martin’s imagination. The manifestations on the screen are typically somewhat easier to identify. For instance, the Causeway Coast of Northern Ireland, Dubrovnik and Malta have been in previous episodes. In season 6, Spain steps forward as the backdrop for swordfights and sorcery. Over four days, we were able to see plenty not only from the Bardenas but also of the region that is only one-third the area of Wales however has a long history of putting up more than its capacity.

The most notable of the places that have previously been featured is the stunning scenery of Navarre, which is located in the north. The area is called Las Bardenas Reales – it has now become the sprawling Dothraki Sea, home to the khalasars who roam around. You can expect it to be overwhelmed by selfie-taking tourists shortly. Mikel was sure that we were able to see both and we ate plenty of vegetables that Navarre is renowned. In the hilltop town of Ujue which is where his family is residing He introduced us to Juana at the Urrutia restaurant. She insisted that we eat the first white asparagus that her husband reserved for himself.

Navarra (or Navarre) began its history as the medieval Basque kingdom of Pamplona in the 700s & over the span of seven centuries, it was subsumed into larger entities creating the kingdom of Navarra. Reales, literally translated as Royal – and these lands being once the property from the monarchs of Navarre.The history of this wild region, however, is much farther and back further than the Kings that lived here during the time of. The ‘badlands’ or semi-desert were created around 10 million years ago, when the basin opened up to it’s Mediterranean Sea & drained, leaving behind the Ebro Basin. These soils in the Bardenas Reales are made of chalk, clay & Sandstone, have been degraded by water & wind , creating a fascinating natural twist.