Castillo de Macenas

What makes it special

The battery survives in good repair. Its two cannon were mounted on the roof, on the side facing the sea. The ground-floor door is a later addition, cut when the Guardia Civil used the building.

The Torre del Pirulico, also called the Torre del Peñón, is much older. The town hall dates it to the Nasrid period, the last Moorish kingdom, between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. It is a cone 10 to 12 metres high, with a tunnel cut through its centre.

Beside the tower, the rock forms a natural arch. Step back along the track to fit the tower and the arch in one frame.

From the path above the shore, the sea is clear enough to show the seabed. Gulls and cormorants can be seen along this stretch.

Visiting

A circuit of the battery comes first, round the curved seaward face and back past the ground-floor door. Then take the dirt track south, keeping the sea on your left. It runs over broad sheets of fossilised sand to the Torre del Pirulico.

Climb the tower's metal stair to the roof terrace, then walk down to the arch beside it. Come back to the battery the same way.

For a longer outing, the signposted La Mena trail, a 10 km loop of about three hours, climbs steeply to the top of the ridge behind the beach, where a bird hide has picnic tables. The track south to the coves is also signposted. It is fine on foot or by bike and drivable with care, though some stretches are rough.