Els Plans de Sió

Els Plans de Sió is a municipality in the Segarra region, with its capital in Pallargues. In 1985 he added the article to the previous name of Plans de Sió.

The municipality of Els Plans de Sió is part, almost entirely, of the Els Plans de Sió Natural Area. This gives it a special appreciation of its natural heritage that must be preserved and protected.

The Els Plans de Sió Natural Area, with gentle orography, is characterized by being a steppe landscape forged by peasant hands over the centuries. Its dryland ecosystems, along with the rest of Lleida 's drylands, are unique in Catalonia and extraordinarily fragile. They are the habitat of numerous species of birds, some of them protected such as the little bustard, the roller, the lark, the lesser kestrel and the Montagu's harrier, which depend on the delicate ecological balance of this space to be able to live and breed.

We could describe this natural environment as a mosaic dominated by barley and wheat fields, outlined by some rows of margin trees (olive and almond trees), dry stone margins, small scattered oak oaks and some fallows and wastelands. The stone cabins, the fish tanks that flow along the course of the Sió, the sheepfolds, rafts and other elements of popular architecture are also features that make up the peculiar character of this territory. Dotted with small towns of medieval origin, the Castles and Romanesque churches are the most notable heritage and historical element; Some of the castles can be visited and many of them are well preserved.

One of the landscape attractions of the natural space is the breadth of the horizons and the colorful skies that can be observed, as well as good starry nights. The course of the year gives us a living and changing landscape, so much so that sometimes it seems like it is not the same. Each season has its characteristic colors: the haunting magic of fog in winter, the green and colorful splendor of spring, the powerful yellow of wheat ears, bales of straw and stubble during the harvest season or the earthy fall season. and paler.

The Els Plans de Sió Natural Area is located between the regions of La Segarra, Urgell and a small part in La Noguera. It has an area of 10,382 ha and is the largest of the SPAs in the Plana de Lleida.

The Els Plans de Sió Natural Area is part of the Natura 2000 Network and is also a SPA, Special Protection Area for Birds.

The Els Plans de Sió Natural Space has the Interpretation Center of the dry lands of Lleida, located in the Concabella Castle, which allows us to get closer to the dry lands knowing what the steppe environments are, such as the landscape, the flora, the fauna and especially which are the most characteristic birds and why it is important to preserve these ecosystems to protect them. We can also see some itineraries to discover this natural environment up close, learn what we can do to preserve it, contribute to its value and make it known.