San Miguel Castle

The walls are dark volcanic stone, and the sea breaks on black lava just beyond them. In 1706 an eruption sent lava down into Garachico and filled the harbour the fort was built to defend. The castle came through it.

Inside there are exhibition rooms, and the roof is open to visitors. From up there the view runs along the coast and out over the Atlantic. Around the walls, paths thread between the volcanic rocks to El Caletón, where the sea fills pools left in the lava of that same eruption.

• The interior does not always open, and its hours have been irregular. The walls and the shore around them can be seen at any time.
• Entry to the interior is paid; walking round the outside costs nothing.
• Free public toilets are about 130 m away. There is no drinking water point nearby, so bring water.
• Bring swimwear on a calm day: the El Caletón pools lie beside the castle.

Buses stop at La Cooperativa, about 110 m away, so the last stretch is a walk along the seafront. A free car park lies about 230 m away in a straight line; spaces around the old town can be hard to find. From the castle walls, paths run out between the lava rocks to El Caletón, and an information board for the PR-TF 43 footpath stands about 180 m away.

Best: a calm day in summer, late in the afternoon.

Avoid: days of heavy swell, most often in winter.

This north-facing coast takes the Atlantic swell, and on rough days waves break over the rocks and into the pools beside the castle, while late sun from the west lights the dark stone and the sea.