Cabo de las Huertas

Cabo de las Huertas is a rocky cape within Alicante's city limits, lying in the north-eastern part of the bay, between Albufereta and San Juan beaches. Its shoreline is a string of small coves and rocks right by the water, good for a walk over the rocks, a sunset or snorkelling.

Cabo de las Huertas (Cap de l'Horta in Valencian) is a rocky cape within Alicante's city limits lying in the north-eastern part of the bay and bordering San Juan beach. The shoreline is made up of small coves and rock platforms right by the water, the best known being Cala de los Judíos, Cala Cantalar and Cala Palmera. The rocks are yellowish Upper Miocene sandstones containing fossil sea urchins and bivalves, and in places you can also see the deposits of a beach some 100,000 years old. Along the coast you can see the spots where the Romans quarried calcarenite, a rock that is easy to work. At the tip of the cape stands a lighthouse that came into service in 1856 on the site of a 16th-century watchtower. The area is protected as a Site of Community Importance (LIC), and there is a plant micro-reserve by Cala Cantalar; the protected species here include the sea lavender Limonium furfuraceum, known locally as siempreviva alicantina. Underwater there are meadows of Posidonia oceanica seagrass, and the rocky seabed is well suited to snorkelling; there is also a designated diving area by the coves. Visitors especially recommend it for snorkelling and praise the clear water. At Cala de los Judíos the shore is made up of rock platforms, but once in the water you soon reach sand. A coastal path of about 7 km runs from Albufereta beach to San Juan beach, passing Almadraba beach, the coves, the lighthouse and the Mirador de la Mussola viewpoint. From there you can see San Juan beach, Benidorm Island, the Serra Gelada, the Serra de Bèrnia and the Puig Campana, among others. At the start of the route, near Albufereta, you can see the remains of an Ibero-Roman fish farm. The rocks at Cala de los Judíos are popular with cormorants, and gulls and plovers can also be seen there. Naturism is permitted on parts of the coast, including Cala Cantalar. The walk is best done in the late afternoon when the heat eases, and sunsets are a frequent topic in visitors' reviews. The cape is easy to reach on tram line 4, which has a stop of the same name, or on bus line 22. Dogs are only allowed on the beach from 1 November to 1 March and must be kept on a lead.