Are you looking forward to enjoying the most authentic part of the province of Cádiz in your next rural touristic adventure? Then you have come to the perfect place for it: the Andalusian town of Barbate.
Getting to know it in depth means discovering the southernmost part of the province, located in the region of La Janda, where the tourist offer is very wide and varied, and where nature, culture and folklore are perfectly combined.
This town in Cádiz is located at the mouth of the river that gives the town its name, and borders on towns such as Vejer and Tarifa. In addition, the Sierra del Retín mountains stand out in its territory, reaching a height of over 200 metres.
Without a doubt, Barbate is one of the municipalities that receives more tourists at the end of the year due to the quality of its tourism and its beaches, which are a total of 8, among which we find virgin spaces such as Magueta, Pajares or La Hierbabuena, and others that are more urban with more services, such as Carmen and Zahara de los Atunes, the latter being semi-urban.
Due precisely to its location next to the Atlantic, one of the main economic pillars is fishing, especially bluefin tuna fishing, one of the star products of this town’s recipe book. Other industries such as canning, and salting are developed around these sea products.
Another economic motors, and the most important one at that, is precisely tourism, which is centred on two of the most famous population centres, Zahara de los Atunes and Los Caños de Meca, where the bulk of the tourist accommodation is distributed.
As for the locations that are worth a visit, we highlight three watchtowers. Firstly, the Torre del Tajo, which is located in a spectacular setting, the cliffs of the La Breña Natural Park and the Barbate marshes. If you want to visit it, there are different guided tours that will allow you to go deeper into its history.
The second is the Torre de Meca, in the heart of the Natural Park and acting as a luxury viewpoint of the town of Los Caños de Meca and the impressive Tómbolo de Trafalgar. And thirdly, the Trafalgar Tower, located in a charming area where you can take advantage of the opportunity to visit the Trafalgar Lighthouse next to it.
Within the extension of the Natural Park, apart from nature, we find other constructions such as the chapel, which is a Monument of Cultural Interest in an impressive photograph in which you can appreciate the passing of time but with a very interesting halo.
We also recommend you visit the yacht harbour of Barbate, as well as the fishing port, where you can see the fishing boats moored and some fishermen fixing their nets in the most traditional way. In this last one you can also find the Nuestra Señora del Carmen chapel, which is the patron saint of the sailors and also of the municipality of Barbate.
And from the port come the main products, a sign of identity of its gastronomy. Some of them are the smoked tuna, also known as mojama, and tuna in all its variants, and dogfish which is traditionally prepared in marinade.
But the people of Barbate also understand a lot about festivities, and especially about carnival, which is lived here with great intensity, as is the case with Easter, where the local religious brotherhoods go out in procession.
And these are just a few ideas of what you can discover in Barbate.
