Walk to the San José Tower and the lighthouse

What it is

Outside the wall, the island is a plain of low scrub without trees. A path leads from the beach eastwards, first to the San José Tower, a watchtower that in the 19th century was a State prison, and then to the lighthouse, with a square plan. From the village to the lighthouse is a little under a kilometre; there and back, with stops, an hour. At the eastern end, Punta Falcón, the island is certified as a Starlight site for night-sky viewing.

The tower and the lighthouse

The San José Tower rises almost in the middle of the Isla Plana. It is a military tower with a square plan and truncated-pyramid elevation, built around 1791 by the engineer Francisco Gilve Federichi, according to Alicante City Council; Turisme Comunitat Valenciana dates it to 1790. The lighthouse, further east, dates from 1854 and was built to plans by Agustín Elcoro Berocíbar. It was the first in the Levante area in the wave of lighthouses of the mid-19th century, designed to prevent shipwrecks among the island's reefs.

The El Campo Nature Trail

The council proposes a circular route of 2,800 metres, about two hours and easy difficulty. It starts at La Purissimeta, climbing from the beach along the south edge towards the Menaca cove, and continues with views of the islet of La Galera, good for birdwatching, and of the Roig and Negre reefs, with outcrops of volcanic rock. It passes the tower, the farmhouse called El Cortijo and the lighthouse, reaches Punta Falcón, opposite the islet of La Nao, a plant micro-reserve, and returns along the north coast, looking towards Cape Santa Pola, as far as La Mina, next to the harbour.

Walk on the marked paths, do not pick plants, keep your dog on a lead and take your rubbish with you.

At night

From Punta Falcón you can see Orion, Taurus, Auriga and Gemini in winter, and Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, Scorpius and Sagittarius in summer. To stay and watch the sky you will have to sleep on the island: the last Tabarbus boat to Santa Pola leaves at 21:00.