Cabo de Palos Lighthouse and Marine Reserve

Cabo de Palos is the southeastern cape of the Murcia coast, the rocky headland where the Mar Menor salt lagoon and the open Mediterranean converge, and one of the most biodiverse and celebrated diving destinations in the western Mediterranean. The cape is marked by the Faro de Cabo de Palos, a lighthouse built in 1865 on a volcanic basalt promontory rising 51 metres above the sea, from which views extend across both sides of the cape — the sheltered Mar Menor lagoon to the northwest and the open sea to the south and east. The lighthouse exterior and the rocky headland are freely accessible at all times; the lighthouse itself is an operational aid to navigation and not open for interior visits. Offshore from the cape, the Reserva Marina de Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas was designated in 1995 and protects a submerged ridge system extending to the Isla Grossa and the small rocky Islas Hormigas visible from the headland. Decades of protected status have allowed the resident marine populations to recover dramatically: the reserve supports large grouper, sea bream, moray eels, octopus, and a particularly notable population of Mediterranean dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) that have grown to exceptional size in the absence of fishing pressure. Pelagic species including amberjack and, in summer, occasional bluefin tuna pass through the outer reserve boundary. A cluster of professional dive centres in the adjacent Cabo de Palos village offers guided dives and snorkelling trips to the Hormigas and the reserve margins. Snorkelling is also viable directly from the rocky public shore of the headland at no cost. The village's seafood restaurants specialise in caldero — the traditional Murcian fish and rice stew associated with the local fishing community.