Costa de La Luz - Attractions and Recreation

Attractions and Recreation

Aside from the beaches and the sunshine, there are ample opportunities and facilities for leisure activities, like fine dining, golf, kitesurfing, boating, and other water sports. The Costa de la Luz is especially noted for the beauty of its protected natural reserves and a number of first-rate natural attractions. Among them are: the Doñana National Park, where endangered species, such as the Spanish Imperial Eagle, also known as Adalbert's Eagle (Aquila adalberti), and the Iberian Lynx (Felis pardina), can occasionally be sighted; the picturesque Bay of Cádiz; the steeply-pitched shorelines of the southern section of the Andalusian coastline; the salt marshes of Barbate and the seaside cliffs at La Breña (both within the La Breña y Marismas del Barbate Natural Park); and the sprawling wetlands at the mouths of the rivers Tinto and Odiel, where there is a profusion of water fowl and, in season, other migratory birds, including storks and flamingos.

Among the towns, cities, and beaches of most interest to a visitor to the Costa de la Luz (in order, from northwest to southeast) are: Ayamonte, Isla Cristina, Lepe, El Portil, Punta Umbría, Matalascañas, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Chipiona, El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Chiclana de la Frontera, Conil de la Frontera, Zahara de los Atunes, Los Caños de Meca, Vejer de la Frontera, Bolonia, and Tarifa.

Other places along the coast, of somewhat less touristic interest (again, in order, from northwest to southeast), are: Isla Canela, Islantilla, La Antilla, El Terrón, Cartaya, El Rompido, Mazagón, Rota, Puerto Réal, San Fernando, and Sancti Petri.

A further facility of nterest is the atmospheric research station El Arenosillo, where sometimes rockets are launched.