Cabo de Gata Lighthouse and the Sirenas Reef

The Cabo de Gata lighthouse rises on the south-western tip of the volcanic sierra that gives the natural park its name, at the end of the road that leaves Almería along the coast. At its foot, a viewpoint looks over the Sirenas reef: a group of needles and rocks of dark volcanic stone rising from the water off the cape. It is a short stop, half an hour to three quarters, free and with no facilities other than the car park and the viewpoint.

Lava needles and a legend of seals

The rocks of the reef are remnants of the volcanic activity that formed this whole sierra. The Junta explains in its leaflets that the capricious shapes of these stones have fed legends among sailors for centuries, and that the mermaids of the name were in fact monk seals, which lived on this coast until the middle of the last century.

To the east, from the sea, behind the Sirenas reef you can see another rock, the Dedo reef, and then the white mass of the Vela Blanca dome, formed of altered volcanic tuffs that contrast with the dark andesites and dacites around. That pale patch, like a sail, gives its name to the spot and to its 15th-century watchtower.

The salt-pan road

From Almería you arrive along the AL-3115: it passes the Las Amoladeras Visitor Centre, at kilometre 7, crosses San Miguel de Cabo de Gata, skirts the salt pans and the long beach and climbs through La Fabriquilla to the lighthouse. There is a small car park next to the viewpoint. The road does not continue to San José: at the Vela Blanca pass there is a barrier to vehicles. To go to San José you return by the inland route, or, if you are on foot, the Vela Blanca trail ends at the viewpoint on that pass, on the other side of the sierra.

When to go

At dusk, when the sun sinks over the sea in the west and the rock darkens against the water. At midday in summer there is no shade. The cape is exposed to the wind: bring something warm even if it is fine down on the beach.

On the way it is worth stopping at the salt pans, especially with binoculars, and if you come from Camping Cabo de Gata you are on the same road. From the water it looks different: one of the kayak and snorkelling routes in the park goes from La Fabriquilla to the Sirenas reef, depending on the state of the sea.