A When I went camping with some friends a few years ago, I was in awe of Becky’s pitch. She arrived while the rest of us were rigging guy ropes to tents that looked like giant cagoules. She also had sheepskin rugs, vintage folding chairs, and duvets in place of sleeping bags. All the talk about “high performance”, “breathability” and practicality was not enough to convince us that Becky’s Bell Tent would be a great place to sleep. In the years since, I have never quite achieved her level of camping chic – until this summer, when I discovered the innovative Spanish camping brand Kampaoh.
In 2016, Kampaoh’s CEO Salvador Lora, and his travel companion were backpacking through the Dominican Republic. The two found a campsite that had pre-erected tented tents with mattresses and bedding. “We were in nature, surrounded with peace, and had everything we needed,” he told me.
Back home in Spain, Salvador wondered if something like that could work there – and decided to experiment setting up a handful of tents in Tarifa. The company currently has 90 sites in Europe. Many are located in Spain. Others are in Portugal, Italy, and Portugal. Coming across the brand by chance when looking for somewhere to stay in Andalucía, I booked into Camping Los Villares, one of its showcase sites, in the hills above Córdoba.
Los Villares, when arriving in the golden hours after traveling overland on a train, looks like the backdrop of a Sofia Coppola movie. The land slopes gently down to reveal avenues with canvas tents in cream colours, and the sun shining on tall Aleppo trees.
Los Villares provides a range of accommodations: from bell tents to large safari-style Bali Tents, to cute triangular Buka tented cabins with rustic-chic exterior washrooms, to Tiny Love cabins that have private baths and views, to Tiny Play cabins for families (with a slide down from their mezzanine bed to the living area). My Anza tent, which is my mid-range option, is a triangular tent that has a shower behind the sleeping space and a raised decked porch. The site has a year-round opening and all tents are equipped with air-conditioning. The site has space for tent campers as well as a small area for campervans.
The first night, when the campsite restaurant is closed during the week, the guests are served sliced tomatoes with olives, tortilla and other items from the village store. As I eat on the terrace, all is deeply peaceful – the wind twisting through pines, blue-tailed Iberian magpies resting on branches overhead.
The interior of my tent, which is white, cream, and wood, is decorated with faux potted plants and fairy lights. My low platform bed, complete with mattress and pillows, is also inside. White bed linen is used to cover the low platform bed (with mattress and pillows!). Plates, cups and cutlery are provided – and if I’d brought a pet, a mini version of the tent would provide a shady dog bed. On the information sheet, I was encouraged to tag @kampaoh. Arrival details had also been sent by WhatsApp.
This is the perfect way to attract gen Z, the experience-seeking and social media-savvy cohort that’s becoming the most dominant in the travel industry. They are not interested in blingy luxury. Aesthetics is important but they do not want to be surrounded by it. Kampaoh’s campsites would be unable to support TikTok if they met any other demographics.
Lora says, “We wanted comfort and style without sacrificing nature to reconnect with the magic.” The new generation loves camping, but also has high expectations in terms of design, comfort and aesthetics. Visual appeal isn’t just superficial. It’s a part of our lives and how we share them.
Kampaoh doesn’t have the exclusive camping market. Touriste, a Parisian brand of hotels, has launched three new holiday parks in France. Campings Liberté Brand is a brand. Huttopia, which started in 2000 as a small nature-based camp in the French Alps, and a dedication to wood and canvas constructions, now offers 152 campsites in eight countries. The goal of glamping is to provide basic comfort, not hotel-style luxuries. Kampaoh, unlike other glamping providers, does not offer large pre-erected tents and cabins such as Eurocamp. Instead, they keep their sites smaller and stylish.
As I drink coffee on the terrace, sheltered by fig trees the next day, I observe a steady trickle as campers in cycling or hiking gear leave for the morning. It was 37C in Córdoba when I collected my hire car, but up here it’s a pleasant 26C. The smell of pine needles was in the air as I followed them to explore.
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The campsite is situated in the Parque Periurbano Los VillaresIt is a 484-hectare protected area (2 square miles) with many bird hides. There are also botanical trails that have been marked and picnic areas. A network of cycling trails and the GR48, a long-distance walking path, pass through it. After getting my bearings by hiking to a view behind the park’s visitors centre, I drive up to the small community of Santa María de Trassierra Walk the 20-minute route to the Baños de Popea.
Remote and jungly, this river pool was a favourite spot with Córdoba’s Cántico group of poets and artists in the late 1940s. The tumble of small waterfalls and pools – full from unusual spring rain – form a magical spot, reached through glades of bear’s breech (Acanthus mollis), and paths edged with beams of gorse-like French broom.I could easily spend all day here, but there’s still Córdoba to see, with its parks of orange trees, the shady gardens of the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos and the famous mosque-cathedral of Mezquita.
What I find most interesting is that the highlights are not necessarily the Medina Azahara Near the city is a large archaeological site. Abd al-Rahman III was the first Caliph of Al-Andalus to start its construction. It was in use for just 70 years. But its evocative archways and ruins are a powerful testament to its grandeur. While jasmine scented the air as grasshoppers hopped, the ancient stones of the Medina were a sight to behold.
As I drove into the campground, I was greeted by a landscape of pale gold. This is because the road leading to the campsite had been adorned with hot-pink oleanders. As I was distracted by the scenery, four hoopoes appeared in front of my eyes, their black-and-white stripes lit by the sun. I should have taken a picture and posted it on Instagram with #kampaohvibes. Instead, I stay very still and observe. There are some experiences still tailored for us analog Gen Xers.
The trip was sponsored by the Spanish Tourist OfficeWith support from Andalucía The following are some examples of how to get started: KampaohThe park is open year-round. Anza tents at Kampaoh Córdoba cost from €63 a night for two people, or from €76 Two nights for four, minimum
