From Los Escullos to La Isleta del Moro

The El Moro Arraez trail links Los Escullos with La Isleta del Moro along the water's edge, in the centre of the coast of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar natural park. It is 1.6 km of path, about 40 minutes each way, with a maximum height difference of 19 metres: the Junta rates it low difficulty, and it is the shortest official walk in the park. From the very first step you can see La Isleta closing off the cove, so you never lose your bearings.

Beaches, reef and balates

The trail starts north of Los Escullos, where the Arco beach meets the cliffs, less than a hundred metres from the water. At first you walk along the edge of the beach and cross the mouth of a dry watercourse; the sand narrows and, after about five hundred metres, gives way to a rock reef. From the small hillocks that follow you can see dark patches in the water: they are Posidonia meadows.

After passing a rocky point beside a house another, smaller beach appears, and the path goes in among gentle hills and ravines with dwarf fan palms, cornical and sea-lavender. In one of the ravines there is a small palm grove. Further on the path moves away from the coast for a moment and crosses land that was cultivated in terraces, the balates, built to retain water. From there you see the La Isleta anchorage and, to the west, the Los Frailes domes, the roof of the volcanic sierra. The last stretch returns to the shore and ends by climbing some stone steps to the La Isleta del Moro viewpoint.

A name in dispute

The village is actually called La Isleta del Moro Arraez. It is not on an island: it sits on a point that looks as if it continues into an islet, whose outline recalls a turban or a helmet. The second part of the name has two explanations, according to the Junta: an Arabic word for a ship's captain, or the name of the man who held the rights to the moruna, a fishing method that the village's fishermen still set in summer for the passing of amberjack and pompano.

Before you set off

Los Escullos is reached by the AL-4200 road, with a short detour between Rodalquilar and El Pozo de los Frailes. There is parking at the beginning and at the end of the trail, so you can leave a car at each end or come back the same way, which is what most people do. At the other end of Los Escullos is the San Felipe battery, a fort from the time of Charles III restored in the nineties: it is worth a visit before setting out.

There is little or no shade: in summer, go first thing or at dusk, with water and a hat. Throughout the park camping, lighting fires, fishing and collecting minerals and fossils are prohibited. The walk fits in the Sunday with Rodalquilar, La Isleta and kayaking on this website; a few minutes away by car, in El Pozo de los Frailes, La Gallineta serves fish and rice dishes.