Formentera’s dune systems

The northern end of Formentera is home to the Ses Illetes beach and the nearby islet of S’Espalmador. These are captivating extensions of pinkish sand formed into a string of coastal dunes. These dunes are highly valuable in ecological terms, thanks to the specific plants, such as the juniper, and the specialised fauna that live there. These dunes often act as natural barriers, protecting the salt marshes.

Both Ses Illetes and S’Espalmador are part of the Parque Natural de las Salinas de Ibiza y Formentera, a natural 15.000-hectare site that protects southern Ibiza and northern Formentera.

S’Espalmador is an idyllic islet close to the Ses Illetes beach, with crystal-clear water and covered in a forest of pine trees and junipers, which you can reach even on foot, as the narrow stretch of water that separates it from the rest of Formentera is quite shallow.  It offers one of the best-preserved and most amazing beaches, with a thousand metres of fine sand the s’Alga beach is a visual delight for visitors. This makes it one of the most attractive places on the whole island.

Ses Illetes is a well-known sandy beach that is one and a half kilometres long, but in many sections only 50 metres wide. This lets you bathe in “two seas”, to the east and to the west, although both have crystalline water and only a short distance from the sand both have valuable prairies of Posidonia oceánica (seagrass) that have been declared World Heritage by the Unesco.