Cabo de Gata

Cabo de Gata; one of the main Capes or Peninsular demarking the Spanish Mediterranean coastline. As all shipping has to navigate around this point it has been important since Phoenician tines.

Legend has it that sailors mistook the sound of monk seals for mermaids on this headland so they called it the Arrecife de las Sirenas (the Reef of the Mermaids). From the hills of San Miguel and Vela Blanca, where there is an 18th-century watchtower, are some of the park's most magnificent panoramic views. You can see as far as North Africa on clear days, as well as the Salinas and along t

For such an arid area, Cabo de Gata has a surprising array of plants, with some 1,000 species recorded here. Xerophytic plants, some of them endemic, characterise much of this semi-desert area.

Starting from the village of San Miguel, look out on the left for the salt pans Salinas de Acosta, a vast 4km-long wetland created by a lagoon with blindingly white mounds of salt heaped up. Here you can see the ruins of an old village; the size of the church gives an idea of how important the salt industry must have been. Salt has been extracted from here for centuries since Phoenician times.

Covering 45,663ha in the southeastern corner of Spain, Cabo de Gata-Níjar is Andalucia's largest coastal protected area, a wild and isolated landscape with some of Europe's most original geological features. The eponymous mountain range is Spain's largest volcanic rock formation with sharp peaks and crags in ochre-hues.

San Miguel de Cabo de Gata is the full name of a small fishing village located 10km to the north of the important Cape (Cabo de Gata) on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Although there are only a few houses, a small general store and a few beach bars here, its a good place to stock up on refreshments. The hamlet is withing the municipal district of Nijar.

Playa de las Negras at Las Negras village where there is a fishing community. The beach gains its name from the black rocked headland that protects it.

Expansive isolated beach. An impressive picture postcard has an aerial photograph showing the length of this dead straight beachy cove. Park the car in the car park by the information point and first walk to the viewpoint before descending the long path down to the beach.

One of the more popular coves in the natural Park. Park your car and walk the last few hundred meters. This and other coves are accessible on the dirt coastal road that leads west from the pretty village of San José (last civilisation).

One of Spain's main geographical headlands. Lots of rocky headlands and sandy coves. The area is protected as a Natural Park of Cabo de Gata - Nijar. The coastal road is blocked to through traffic just to the east, making for a truly tranquil experience; where the road ends you will find the stunning Mirador de las Sirenas a viewpoint looking out over the Mediterranean

Agua Amarga is a wonderfully picturesque bay where you find Agua Amarga a secluded white fishing village. The whole coast from here northwards nearly as far as Mojacar is worth exploring. Mesa Roldan is a huge rock headland where a scene in Game of Thrones was filmed.

Playa Isleta del Moro is a small beach next to the small jetty in the quaint fishing hamlet Isleta del Moro  known for its picturesque setting, and well worth the 500m detour from the AL-4200 San Jose to Las Negras coast road. Limited parking is available in the main square, which is actually an old river course. You can get a drink or meal at La Isleta bar with terrace overlooking the jetty and the bay, which is dominated by the dual-peaked extinct volcanoes called Volcanes del Fraile. 

Cala San Pedro is more easily accessed from Las Negras than Agua Amarga. The 4km-walk from Las Negras takes about an hour; in the summer you can take a taxi launch. This isolated cove is picture-postcard perfect, overlooked by a 16th century castle with tower (built to protect the coast from Berber pirates), and ruined fishing village abandoned after an earthquake. Today inhabitants are a year-round naturist hippy community living in makeshift dwellings with their dogs.

There is an increasing selection of hotels and self-catering options for tourists and visitors, including villas, apartments, guesthouses and hotels.