Ibiza - Eivissa | UNESCO World Heritage Site | Sightseeing, Excursions, Tours, Visits

World Heritage

Since 1999, Ibiza Renaissance walled town, Phoenician ruins and prairies of Posidonia seagrass and coral reefs are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Culture

The impressive 16th century fortifications of Ibiza bear unique witness to the military architecture, engineering and aesthetics of the Renaissance. The Upper Town of Ibiza "Dalt Vila" is an excellent example of a fortified acropolis which preserves in an exceptional way, within its walls and in its urban fabric, the successive imprints of earliest Phoenician settlements as well as Arab and Catalan periods through to the Renaissance bastions. The long process of building the defensive walls has not destroyed the earlier phases or the street pattern, but has incorporated them in the ultimate phase. This Spanish-Italian model of defensive walls was very influential in the construction and fortification of towns, especially in the New World.

The Phoenician ruins of Sa Caleta and the Phoenician-Punic cemetery of Puig des Molins are exceptional evidence of urbanization and social life in the Phoenician colonies of the Western Mediterranean. They constitute a unique resource of material on the origins of Phoenician and Carthaginian cultures.

Nature

Ibiza's marine component is characterised by the presence of dense and very well preserved prairies of oceanic "Posidonia" (seagrass) and coral reefs. The Posidonia beds are the best preserved in the Mediterranean basin. The island's seabed contains the most diverse community of Cladocora caespitosa, supporting 220 species, the highest record for a marine community in the Mediterranean. This community offers protection to three globally endangered species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. In this area can be found an important community of Ecteinascidia turbinata, a marine species with recognised value to prevent and combat different types of cancer. Parts of the declared areas are included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) for their importance for migratory birds.

Natural Protected Areas

Es Amunts
Includes most of the northwestern part of the island and its highest area. Its coastline is bordered by spectacular high cliffs, while inland hills densely covered with pine woods alternates with lush valleys planted with almond trees and doted with old farm houses and vineyards

Ses Salines of Eivissa and Formentera
This ecosystem includes salt flats and swamps which are the product of the exploitation of salt since ancient times, sandy beaches with sabina trees, pine groves and a chain of tiny islands and inlets which separate Ibiza and Formentera.

Cala d´Hort & Es Vedra
To the southwest of the island, this area covers the zone of Cala d'Hort, Cap Llentrisca and S'Atatalia from Sant Josep, the island highest peak, together with the spectacular rock islands of Es Vedra and Es Vedranell. Its varied scenery range from mountainous areas to a coastline of high cliffs, bays and coves.

Cala Conta Beach and the islands to the West (part of Cala d'Hort)
This part of the coast is formed by a patchwork of open fields interspersed with copses of pines and sabina trees, coastline of sandy beaches and low cliffs, and several unhabited islands: Des Bosc, Sa Conillera, S´Espartar and Ses Bledes.

Serra Grossa
A large wooded mountainous area situated in the interior of the southern part of the island, which is practically conserved in its natural state.

Cap Roig
It covers the little peninsula of Cap Roig and the mountains of "S'Atalaia de Sant Carles" in the northeast of the island. Ancient farmhouses, pined covered mountains, wheat fields and almond trees alternate to create a bucolic landscape.