Sanitja Tower

Stand at the foot of the tower and the view splits in two. On one side lies the sheltered water of the Sanitja inlet, where the Romans kept their port of Sanisera and traditional Menorcan llaüts still sit at their moorings. On the other is the open Mediterranean, with limestone cliffs dropping straight into the surf.

The tower is British work from 1800 to 1802, put up to watch the harbour mouth for privateers and smugglers. Its local stone has taken two centuries of the tramontana, the north wind that scours this coast. At sunset the low light turns the walls amber.

Walking trails cross the country around it, some of them passing archaeological sites, so the tower makes a good stop on a longer walk along this stretch of coast.

• There are no toilets, no drinking water and no café at the tower or anywhere nearby. Bring water with you.
• The ground is sharp limestone and low scrub. Wear closed shoes with a firm sole.
• The headland is bare: no shade at midday in summer, and nothing to break the wind when the tramontana blows.
• Trails in the surrounding area pass archaeological sites, so the tower fits well into a longer walk.

You come by car along the road to Cavalleria Lighthouse; the tower lies on a detour off it. The car park for the tower is unpaved and sits about 800 m from it in a straight line. A second car park close by is private.

From the parking, a path runs out across a flat, windswept plain of sharp limestone and low shrubs to the headland, with the tower in sight ahead.

Public transport does not come close. The nearest bus stops are around 3.5 km away in a straight line, so in practice this is a trip for a car or for walkers already out on the coast.

Best: late afternoon into sunset. The evening light warms the stone of the tower, and the heat of the day has gone off the bare headland.

Avoid: midday in high summer, and days when the tramontana blows hard. There is no shade anywhere on the plain, and the north wind hits this coast head-on.