Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules

What it is

Cape Spartel is the north-west corner of Africa: the point, about 14 km west of Tangier, where the Strait of Gibraltar opens into the Atlantic. The headland rises to about 315 metres and at its tip, about 110 metres above the sea, is the lighthouse. A few kilometres to the south, at the foot of the Achakar cliff, are the Caves of Hercules, opened by the sea and with a mouth that, seen from inside, draws the silhouette of Africa. The two visits are made together in half a morning or half an afternoon.

The lighthouse and the viewpoint

The lighthouse began operating on 15 October 1864. It was commissioned by the sultan Mohammed IV at the request of the European consuls, concerned about the shipwrecks off the cape, and its light can be seen at about 30 miles. In 2020 and 2021 the complex was renovated, with a maritime museum, a restaurant and a botanical garden.

From the esplanade you see the Strait head-on. On clear days you can make out the Spanish coast, and from some points the Rock of Gibraltar looks like an island; Cape Trafalgar is 44 km to the north. On one side is the Mediterranean and on the other the Atlantic, although the line between them cannot be seen on the water. The best time is late afternoon, with the sun going down over the Atlantic.

The Caves of Hercules

They are caves with a narrow entrance and three levels inside. The sea gradually opened a crack in the rock, and the shape of that crack recalls the coast of Africa; hence the legend, which says Hercules separated the two continents and rested here before his eleventh labour, that of the golden apples of the Hesperides. Part of the caves was dug by people to extract millstones for olive mills. Excavations in 1906 uncovered Neolithic remains from around 5000 BC, and since 1950 the site has been a historic monument.

In 2014 they were refurbished at a cost of about ten million dirhams: the walls were reinforced, the lighting improved and cafés and restaurants opened around. There is a small entry fee of a few dirhams; the published figures do not agree, so confirm the price at the ticket window. They open every day; the published hours do not quite agree either, so go during daytime.

Getting there

There is no practical transport line: the usual thing is to go by car, by petit taxi or grand taxi negotiated by the hour, or on an organised excursion from Tangier. By car, leave the city westwards to the cape and then continue south along the coast to Achakar and the caves. At the caves a small car park is paid, about 10 dirhams according to guides. If you go by taxi, agree beforehand the price for the outward journey, waiting and return.

How long and when

Allow about three hours with the journey: a while at the lighthouse, another at the caves and a tea with a view. In summer and at weekends the caves fill up; go first thing or at the end of the day. On hazy days you cannot see Spain.

With children and nearby beaches

Children like the caves and the shape of Africa, but the ground is uneven and there are stairs: better without a pushchair. Next to the caves stretches the Atlantic beach of Achakar. It is open sea, with waves and currents: swim only where the locals do and never under a red flag. Back in Tangier, complete the day at the kasbah and medina or with a tea at the Café Hafa, which looks over the same Strait.