Salt Pans of Trapani and Paceco Nature Reserve – Sicily: brackish water mirrors, flamingos in flight and mills that draw the horizon. The Saline di Trapani and Paceco Nature Reserve extends along the west coast of Sicily, between the port of Trapani and the countryside of Nubia. It is a unique environment, where active salt pans, canals, windmills and evaporation tanks merge into a silent and evocative landscape, shaped by wind and light. 🧂 A landscape sculpted by salt: The salt pans, active since Phoenician times, continue to produce sea salt today with traditional and sustainable methods. During the summer, white mounds emerge from the pink and gold pools, creating a chromatic spectacle that changes with the hours of the day. 👉 Tip: Visit the salt flats at sunset: the light reflected on the water creates spectacular photo scenery between the mills and the salt mountains. 🦩 Birdlife between water and sky: The brackish environment of the reserve is a refuge and resting point for over 170 species of birds, including pink flamingos, avocets, black-winged stilts, herons and terns. The evaporation tanks and canals provide ideal habitats for nesting and birdwatching. 👉 Tip: Bring binoculars and walk the nature trail that connects the Nubia Salt Museum to the wildlife observatories along the canals. 🌀 Mills and salt traditions: The windmills that dot the area are not only landscape symbols, but tools still used for pumping water between tanks. The Salt Museum, inside an ancient salt pan, tells the story and techniques of salt harvesting, with original objects and educational paths. 👉 Tip: Book a guided tour with tasting of aromatic salts and local products: an experience that combines nature, history and taste. 🏡 Where to stay and what to enjoy: Near the reserve there are rural houses, renovated farms and boutique hotels immersed in the salty landscape. The local cuisine enhances fresh fish, capers, cherry tomatoes and, of course, sea salt: try the Trapani couscous and sardines a beccafico in a brackish version. 👉 Tip: Stay overnight in a structure overlooking the salt pans: waking up at dawn with the landscape suspended between water and light is a memorable experience. The Salt Pans of Trapani and Paceco offer a rare balance between human work, nature and beauty: a place where time is measured in wind, reflections and migrations.