Welcome to one of the most singular coastal regions in Andalucía. This corner has 15 miles of high quality coastline, with different kinds of beaches.
A wide range of sports can be practised in surroundings of exceptional beauty. The coastline is ideal for sailing from Zahara to past the Cape of Trafalgar, with the Tajo cliffs as a halfway mark, a point of reference for bird watchers.
The Barbate marina provides for an attractive combination of sailing for sport and local fishing traditions.
The possibilities here will make your holidays unforgettable, with whale watching, fishing, deep sea diving, and surfing, windsurfing or kitesurf for those who prefer direct contact with the sea.
The landscape is full of the blue of the coast and the green of the La Breña y Marismas del Barbate Nature Park, which forms a great mass of forest that surrounds the town and visits the sea by the 300-foot high Tajo cliffs.
The Nature Park is a crossroads for hikers, mountain bike enthusiasts and horse riders. Enjoy canoeing on the coast or upstream in the marshes of the river Barbate for a different view of the landscape.
Just a short way inland there is a large number of other possibilities, such as golf, riding in a horse and carriage, horse competitions and adventure-oriented activities.
 Historical enthusiasts will enjoy the route that crosses the town from east to west, starting from Zahara de los Atunes, with the remains of what was once the Almadrabas castle, built by the Dukes of Medina Sidonia in the 15th Century. The building was of military characteristics, and was intended to protect fishing materials from pirate attacks.
In the La Breña y Marismas del Barbate Nature Park, on the edge of the cliff, we find the Tajo Tower (16th Century), strategically set above the Barbate cove.
Also within the natural park area, we find a second lookout, the Meca Tower, 495 feet above sea level, majestic above Los Caños. Built at the start of the 17th Century.
The third and last tower, the Trafalgar tower, is to be found next to the lighthouse of the same name. It is a square construction on a sloped base.
Our visit to the past now takes us to the remains of the hermitage of St. Ambrose (7th Century), next to the rural district of the same name. Its Visigoth architecture, dating from the Paleochristian era, suffered several transformations in the Middle Ages.
In one of the smallest protected nature parks in Andalusia, in the La Breña y Marismas del Barbate Nature Park, we find 9.382 acres with basic ecosystems that have an exceedingly high ecological value: a cliff that goes from the Hierbabuena beach to Los Caños de Meca, an extense wood, dunes, a marine ecosystem and the marshes of the Barbate river.
Besides offering you the possibility of enjoying its four recreational areas or admiring the landscape from its spectacular viewpoints, the Nature Park is waiting to be discovered by taking one of the following routes:
Cliff route (3.9 miles, 4.5 hours) We recommend that you park at the Marina and start the route from the Hierbabuena beach to Los Caños de Meca. The route starts on a path very close to the road that branches off to the Tajo Tower half way, and discovers the impressive precipice that springs have modelled in the rock over the centuries.
From the Tower, we can see a spectacular panorama of the coast, with the Barbate cove, the cape and ahead… Africa.
Meca tower route (1,05 miles; 1 hour) It starts at the Majales del Sol recreational area where we take the old Los Caños de Meca road. When we arrive at the Meca Tower, we are surprise by an unexpected view of the sea dominated by the tower.
Barbate marshes route This is a resting place on the bird migration routes from northern and central Europe and the African continent, and it is an ideal setting for the maintenance of local and wintering birds.
More information:
www.barbate.es
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