Cavalleria Beaches

The view arrives before the sand does. From the top of the descent the bay shows as two linked crescents, coarse red-gold sand against turquoise water, dark clay cliffs curving round the whole of it. The colour is the point: the coves of the south coast are white sand, and this reads as a different island altogether.

At the foot of the cliffs the red argil clay is soft enough to mix with seawater, and it goes on as a mud mask before a rinse in the sea. On calm days the water inside the bay is clear and shallow, and the snorkelling runs out around Escull de Cavalleria, the reef islet in the middle, inside a protected reserve. When the Tramontana gets up, the same bay fills with breaking waves and belongs to the windsurfers and the photographers.

• No shade: there is no natural shade on the sand and nothing to rent, so bring an umbrella if you plan to stay through the middle of the day.
• Nothing on the beach: no bar, no loungers, no toilets, and no drinking water nearby. Pack what you need before you set out.
• Kiosk at the car park: a small chiringuito by the parking area does cold drinks and ice cream, with a patch of shade; anything more substantial you carry in.
• Wind: the shore faces the open north and there is nearly always a breeze over it.
• Steps down: the way in is a wooden walkway that ends in a flight of stairs, so there is no step-free route onto the sand.

Arrival is by car. A rural road runs north towards Cavalleria Lighthouse (Far de Cavalleria), and the beach car park sits off it, about 290 m from the bay in a straight line — a large unsurfaced area with sand underfoot and the kiosk at one side. From there a wooden walkway leads out along the cliff top and drops down a flight of stairs to the beach; the walk takes five to ten minutes, with the coast laid out in front of you the whole way down.

No bus comes to the beach. The nearest stops, Carrer de Dalt and Carrer de S'Alcor, are around 3 km away in a straight line. Walkers on the Camí de Cavalls arrive on foot from either side along the coast.

Best: calm days, and the evening for the sunset.

Avoid: the middle of the day in strong sun, and windy days if you came to swim.

On a calm day the water inside the bay is translucent and shallow enough to snorkel over the reef; with no shade anywhere on the sand, the midday hours mean an umbrella or a retreat to the kiosk, and when the north wind rises the bay turns to surf.