Cabo de Gata Natural Park

Named, through history, as the “Pirate Coast”, this name comes from the maritime incursions of the Berbers and pirates that arrived at the coasts to get fresh water and rest in the calm villages before going back to the sea.

The Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park is Andalucía’s first maritime-land park. It is of volcanic origin and it is the largest protected space with ecological relevance of all the Western Europe Mediterranean Sea.

It has one of the most beautiful and rich coastal strips of the Mediterranean, with 65 kilometers of coast. This park has become one of the natural jewels for the tourism in Almería, Andalucía and the rest of Spain.

This natural park of 38,000 hectares and a marine strip of about a mile wide is the first in Andalucía, and one of the biggest in the Western-European Mediterranean. It is of volcanic origin and its localities, Agua Amarga, Isleta del Moro, Rodalquilar, San Miguel, Almadraba, Las Negras…they are all wonderful.

One of my favorite places is La Isleta, a small port with a small mountain where you can admire and be in contact with the seagulls. To take a dive, go down to the beach of Los Muertos, it is beautiful. For lunch or dinner you can go to one of the small restaurants in San José, and

It is my favorite beach area in Spain. In a semi-desert province like Almería, where they filmed many American westerners and where you can still find the house that inspired Lorca’s tragedy, Blood Wedding, and where there are cactuses instead of forests… In that strange province you will find the marvelous natural park Cabo de Gata. It is the perfect place for getting lost, for enjoying the strange nature without any buildings. You only need to walk a few kilometers to find semi-virgin beaches where you will be alone with the fish…

If you want to see people, I recommend the town of San José and its charming whitewashed hostel.

Cabo de Gata Natural Park is an extraordinary beautiful place. We wish to highlight several spots, namely the Mónsul and Genoese beaches and the San Pedro Creek, which is beautiful from afar.