The semi-desert Las Tabernes in the province of Almería is loved by film directors all over the world. Sergio Leone in particular made the area famous with his spaghetti westerns. Join us on a 4×4 tour through movie sets and fascinating landscapes.
It feels like driving straight into a movie as the SUV turns off the main road, 30 kilometers north of the city of Almería, and drives under the arch of the Cautivo Bridge.
Perhaps I am influenced by the fact that several film directors for decades have also been able to see the cinematic qualities of Europe’s driest area, Desierto de Tabernas in Almería. The sun is baking from a cloudless sky as I, along with two local movie geeks, head to the world-famous semi-desert in a four-wheel drive.
Since the 1950s, the 11.6 hectare area of hills, grassy plains and rugged mountains has been used as a backdrop for numerous feature films, documentaries, commercials, TV series and music videos. Over 300 films have been shot in the Tabernas Desert from the 1950s to the 2020s.
Famous actors such as Henry Fonda, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot have showcased their talents in the desert landscape.
War movie made Andalusia famous
“The 1962 British war film Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here, and it’s what made Andalusia famous among filmmakers,” says Carlos, as we stop a few minutes later in the middle of a desert oasis, centered around a few bridges and a dry, artificial river, surrounded by palm trees.
“Here in the desert oasis, Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif rest while talking about how to get to the city of Àquaba. The oasis is also called the Lawrence of Arabia oasis,” Carlos continues.
When the movie was shot, director David Lean and the 400-strong crew spent several months in the desert. Also involved were 1000 local extras, 750 horses and 159 camels.
Spaghetti westerns and American blockbusters
“It’s the most photographed place in the area. Clint Eastwood rides here in the movie Revenge of the Dollars,” says Carlos, pointing to a hilltop as we drive away from the oasis and further down the boulevard Rambla de Tabernas. The famous spaghetti western director Sergio Leone filmed the entire 1960s Dollar trilogy and several of his other westerns in the desert.
Carlos turns up the music and to the sound of Enniro Morricone’s famous theme to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, we drive deeper into the desert and past locations that appear in Leone’s films.
“Clint Eastwood is the actor who has made the most movies in Tabernas, and most of them are directed by Leone,” says Carlos.
Tabernas has also been portrayed in several American films, including Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) starring, among others.
Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.
“Many of the movie’s tank scenes were shot along this boulevard,” says Carlos as we drive along Ramblas Viciana.
Western parks in the hinterland
On a hilltop stands a gigantic “Texas Hollywood” sign that looks a lot like the Los Angeles landmark. Behind the sign, on the other side of the hill, is the theme park of the same name, and there are several more like it in the area. It has become a tourist industry to see shows in the western town settings used by Leone and other directors, which are still used for filming today.
The majority of tourists who visit Tabernas in the province of Almería choose the western theme parks, and I don’t understand that. It’s out here that you get the most beautiful nature experiences and find the most lifelike movie sets, says Carlos as we drive past the sign.
The wondrous lunar landscape of the silent desert
Giant clouds of dust beat against the SUV as it negotiates the hilly terrain off the alpha road. We’ve taken a detour deeper into the fascinating, cinematic lunar landscape of dry river beds, slopes and canyons carved by erosion.
Stretching from the eastern part of La Alpujarra down to the coast of El Cabo de Gata, Tabernas Almería is formed on an ancient seabed by the rare but torrential rains that occur here, where there are more than 300 sunny days a year.
The temperature has reached 30 degrees and it is remarkably quiet. Only the birds of prey and light gusts of wind break the silence in the nature reserve, where there are also many snakes and lizards hunting insects and rodents. However, we don’t encounter any of them.
Ridley Scott’s biblical universe
Our last stop on the movie route, in Tabernas in Almería, is the small village of El Chorillo, nestled against the Sierra Alhamilla mountain range, about 15 km from Almería. Here we step into both recent cinematic history and ancient Egypt in Almería’s best preserved movie set, which was built for Ridley Scott’s biblical film, Exodus – Gods and Kings (2014).
The film has spent the longest shooting time in Almería and the plot is inspired by the Book of Exodus. Christian Bale stars as Moses and Danish actor Dar Salim has a supporting role as Khyan.
The film set consists of a few narrow streets of spartan stone houses with tiny barred windows, built as cardboard facades, connected by internal corridors. From a distance, they look like card houses about to collapse. Behind some of the facades are small corners with a fireplace and a seating area, which have been used as a backdrop when filming indoor scenes.
“The slaves lived in this setting, but in the movie, the ghetto is a gigantic city created with visual effects.
The scene where Ramses’ huge army attacks the ghetto to kill Moses was shot here, among other things.
“It was difficult to shoot because there was very little space for the many horses, actors and film crew,” says Carlos.
In addition to the ghetto, the set also consists of a few squares with a church, a few other buildings and palm tree paths.
It’s all surrounded by the desert landscape of Almería.
– Ridley Scott chose Almería because the desert landscape could easily be Egypt, but the palm trees are brought here, Carlos laughs.
Today, El Chorrillo’s film sets are some of the most coveted by filmmakers and have undergone several adjustments during the filming of recent movies and series, including Game of Thrones season 6.
As we drive out of the Tabernas area we encounter several large film buses and filmmakers filming from large cranes, proving that Tabernas Almería is still a movie star.
How to get to Desierto de Tabernas in Almeria
From Almería, it’s about half an hour’s drive to Tabernas via the A-92. There is no public transportation to the desert. You can drive along the main desert roads and there are also several hiking routes. Information on hiking routes and maps are available at the Almería tourist office.
You can book a guided quad bike tour in Tabernas in Almeria to experience the landscape and see famous film locations (promotional link)
WARNING: Driving around Tabernas on your own by car is strongly discouraged as there are no marked roads or signs. The risk of getting lost is high.
More travel tips for Almeria
Read also the guide to gastronomic experiences in Almeria, including TV chef Antonio Gázquez’s restaurant La Eres de Antonio, located in Tabernas Almería.
Join sustainable tomato grower Lola in Almeria’s huge greenhouse area, also known as the plastic sea.
