Cap de Creus

Price: free of charge

The wild Cap de Creus headland, where the Pyrenees crash down to the sea, is the easternmost point in the Iberian peninsula; dawn revels take place here every New Year’s Day. A lighthouse dating from 1853 stands in juxtaposition with the fake lighthouse built nearer the edge of the cliff for the 1971 film, The Light at the End of the World. Crowning the clifftop, the Cap de Creus bar and restaurant has a great terrace for soaking in the stunning views and tranquillity.The only sounds you’re likely to hear are seagulls calling and the gentle chugging of fishing boats down below, while sailing boats glide lazily from turquoise cove to rock-strewn beach.

The spectacular six-kilometre road from Portlligat to the Cap de Creus climbs tortuously through a lunar landscape, past some stunning views of barren headlands and the jagged coastline. Along the way, the route passes secluded coves and after about 4km a sand-coloured rock formation known as El Camell on account of its shape, said to resemble a haughty, seated camel.

Walkers can take the breathtaking and demanding Camí de Ronda footpath, which follows the rocky shoreline from Portlligat and offers lots of opportunities along the way to take a dip.

Best of the beaches en route are Platja de Sant Lluís, reached by a twenty-minute signposted footpath from the road through olive terraces, where bathers (both nude and not) enjoy an uncrowded pebble beach. Almost at the headland, a yellow rambler sign by a crash barrier signals a parking place for the climb down to a pair of wind-battered coves – L’Infern (“Hell”) and the prettier Cala Jugadora, where calm, crystalline waters contrast with the savagery of the rocks.

Cap de Creus is the latest extension of the Pyrenees on the sea and the easternmost point of the peninsula. Since 1988 it is a natural park with protected status. Its landscape (defined by some as lunar for surface shape of its rocks) has a good expression in the six-kilometer road linking Portlligat with the lighthouse, the most landmark. Around the lighthouse are concentrated beautiful coves like Cala Jugadora, Cala Culip or the beautiful landscape of Tudela, with extraordinary rock formations.

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Cap de Creus Natural Park

Cap de Creus Photos

Cap de Creus, Costa Brava, Spain

Vegetació arran de mar al Cap de Creus

Cala solitaria en el Cap de Creus, GIrona, Costa Brava

Faro del Cap de Creus, Cadaqués, Costa Brava

Phare du Cap de Creus, Cadaqués, Costa Brava

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