Shedding light on the Costa de la Luz

THE Costa de la Luz, or Coast of Light, stretches for 200 kilometres from Tarifa to the Portuguese border, near Huelva.

Taking in Spain’s most important national park Donana, it includes the famous sherry towns of Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria, as well as the famous city Cadiz.

But, what most people, think of, when you mention the Coast of Light is the stretch from Tarifa to Chiclana.

A windswept flood plain, fringed by long dune beaches and crowned by a series of austere ‘cubist’ towns, which were built by the Moors.

There are literally miles of mesmerizing and largely unspoilt sandy beaches, ideal for a bucket-and-spade break away from the over-built towns of the Costa del Sol.

Sightseers will be spoilt by the numerous sites from the famous Trafalgar lighthouse – off which the crucial naval battle once took place – to the historic fishing village of Sancti Petri and the white-washed streets of Conil.

The two main towns are Tarifa – a Mecca for kitesurfers – and Vejer, a hip and alluring escape, where cabinet ministers and celebraties occasionally rub shoulders.

And then there are the hidden gems, like exclusive Roche, where Madrid’s captains of industry take their holidays, and Zahara de los Atunes, the sleepy fishing village, which is fast garnering a reputation for its food.

And still there is more, with El Palmar claiming to have the best surfing waves in Andalucia and Europe’s largest sand dune, at over 30-metres in height in Bolonia.

And don’t forget Canos de Meca – the fun capital of the region – or gritty Barbate, whose fish restaurant El Campero is among the best in Spain.

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