Cabo de Gata Nature Reserve, Montpelliersul
November 6, 2017 | Activities, Andalucia, Granada, Spain
Monsul is one of many breathtakingly beautiful beaches within the Cabo de Gata nature reserve situated in the coastal part of the province of Almeria which is at the south-eastern extreme of Andalucia.
How to get there:
San José is the main fishing village on this coastline. At the top of the town you take a well signposted road to the ‘playas’ which quickly turns into a rumbly forest track. After 2.5km you will pass the equally stunning beach of Genoveses and after another 1.5km you will see Monsul. You can park your car along the track but spaces are very limited. In summer, when visitors are at their peak, it is recommended to take the regular shuttle bus from San Jose (stops also at Genoveses and another beach farther on, Barronal).
Recommended by Grainne Rogers
Contact Details: For more info: www.cabogataspain.com/Gata-Nature-Reserve
This place had reached cult status in our imaginations as we’d been wanting to go here for so long; also it was listed in the Lonely Planet’s recently published Hidden Gems of Europe. Cabo de Gata is a natural protected reserve thanks to a remarkable lady called Francisca Díaz Torres, fondly known as Doña Paquita she is considered one of Spain’s great feminist icons and first ecologists. What makes this coastline so unique is the rock. If you go hiking in this area you can visit massive calderas (collapsed craters). The frequent eruptions threw up a wealth of minerals – gold, agate and alunite. The now almost abandoned village of Rodalquilar, just north of here, was once a thriving, gold mining town. At its peak in the 60’s it had a population of 1,400 people. Now less than 100 people live there surviving mostly on tourism. It’s well worth a visit! The huge lava spills from the volcanoes reached the sea and over the centuries the wind and water eroded the rock to form the incredible beaches that you find in Cabo. Look at these caves, an absolute wonderland for children. (Grainne Rogers)