Charco del Palo Natural Pool

Terraces of dark rock step down around a sheltered pool with a floor of sand and stone, and fish swim alongside the bathers. Charco del Palo has no beach. Three coves along its rocky shore have been shaped for safe bathing instead, and the terraces hold sunbathing spots tucked out of the wind.

Almost everyone here is naked. The village has been a naturist resort since around 1970, the first official one in the Canaries, and nudity is the norm in the water, on the rocks and on the bar terraces. The pools are rarely empty; the village around them is quiet.

Along the shore there is a cave, and a set of steps leads down to another swimming area with a viewpoint. Inland, fields of prickly pear cactus, where cochineal beetles are reared, run out towards a few extinct volcanic cones.

• Expect nudity. Nearly everyone in the pools and on the terraces is naked; the village is open to all, but keep your camera off other bathers.
• Watch the tide. The pool is best for swimming at higher tides, so check a tide table before you set out.
• No facilities at the water. No public toilets or drinking water at the pools; the village has a few bars and restaurants and a small supermarket.
• No wheelchair access. Neither the parking nor the way into the pool is wheelchair accessible.
• Little shade. The terraces are bare rock open to the sun; bring a hat and sun cream.

Charco del Palo sits at the end of its own access road, about 3 km long, running out through fields of prickly pear cactus to the coast. Two car parks lie about 260 m and 410 m from the pool in a straight line, and there is plenty of parking to choose from. From either one you walk to the shore and down the terraces to the water.

Without a car, the regular bus between Arrecife and the north of the island serves the villages of Mala and Guatiza, both about 3 km from Charco del Palo.

Best: at higher tides, on a calm day.

Avoid: low tide, days of heavy swell, and the middle of a summer day on the bare rock.

Swimming here is best at higher tides, and the north-east coast faces the open Atlantic and the trade winds, so when the sea is up waves break over the outer rocks.

Charco del Palo is an official naturist resort. Nudity is permitted everywhere in the village, the pools included, and it is practised universally. The village is open to all visitors. Naturist custom applies: do not photograph other people, and expect bare bodies in the water, on the rocks and on the bar terraces.