Cabo de Gata offers numerous enclaves where you can let yourself be carried away by its rugged cliffs and kilometres of wild coastline that have successfully avoided the massive urban development of other parts of the country. The area, the first in Andalusia to be declared a protected maritime-terrestrial space, is one of the most beautiful in the world. jewel of Spanish nature.
In Cabo de Gata there is room for everyone, for many years it was populated by colonies of hippies who enjoyed the tranquillity of this little piece of Andalusia. Today thousands of tourists visit it and there are beautiful villages for all tastes with different services: campsites, boutique hotels or small hostels that maintain the charm of the rural tourism of decades ago.
In addition to enjoying the landscape and its beaches, Cabo de Gata offers a rich gastronomy with fresh fish and seafood as a reference point and still affordable prices to enjoy home-cooked meals in its chiringuitos (beach bars).
Here is our selection of the most beautiful villages of Cabo de Gata
La Fabriquilla
As a descriptive fact of what you are going to find if you visit it, it is the smallest urban centre in the country.ocality of Nijar. There are only 6 inhabitants on the census. It was at the end of the 19th century that this tiny village gained notoriety thanks to the mining activity in the area.
The name comes from that time and remains of the industrial mining past can still be seen in the remains of a furnace chimney. The village has interesting sights to visit, such as its hill, where throughout history watchtowers were located and, in the more recent past, during the Spanish Civil War, shelters were dug and a bunker was built. La Fabriquilla has an extensive beach that ends at the volcanic cliffs of Cabo de Gata. It is an easily accessible place where it is possible to do the following activities activities in the Fabriquilla.
Coal bunkers
This village is one of the main centres of tourism in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park. With a long fishing tradition, Carboneras has one of the most important fish markets in AlmeriaSo, it is almost obligatory to stop at one of the restaurants along the promenade to try the very fresh fish at a reasonable price.
Although Carboneras is located in the natural park, its urban centre and some of its beaches do not have the restrictions of this, so you can find all kinds of services and water leisure activities, our recommendation to enjoy the view of the entire coast is to do some of the following excursion in Carboneras.
As well as enjoying beaches of the highest quality, just a short distance from the village is the world famous Beach of the DeadWe highly recommend it for its crystalline colour and the purity of its waters. We also recommend a visit to the watchtower of Mesa de Roldan, the castle of San Andrés built in the 16th century for military use, the fishing port and the Torre del Rayo.
San José
It is considered the "capital" of the park as it is the largest population centre and has all the services. By "largest" we don't mean a large number of people, as the census population is less than a thousand. population can be multiplied by a factor of 4.
San José, which sits on the seashore and borrows land on the mountainside to locate part of its houses, has two of the most recommended beaches on the Cabo de Gata route: Mónsul Beach y Genoveses Beach.
The town also has the urban beach of San José. This is the perfect place to enjoy many activities in San Jose and relaxation time and more active time on the beach: kayak excursions, boat trips, hiking trails...
These 3 are just some of the most beautiful villages you can visit, but Cabo de Gata is full of wildlife to discover, on the coast and inland.
