Cap de Creus Natural Park
Cap de Creus is the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most elemental landscapes in the Mediterranean — a wind-scoured moonscape of oxidised rock, secret coves and turquoise water that inspired Salvador Dalí for his entire life. The national park begins just minutes from Roses by car or bike.
Hiking the cape's dramatic coastline
The GR-11 long-distance trail threads through the park, but you don't need to tackle the whole route: the 90-minute loop from the Cap de Creus lighthouse car park to the Cala Jugadora cove and back gives you the essential drama — vertiginous cliffs, wind-bent olive trees and water in every shade of blue.
In spring the hillsides are carpeted with rosemary, thyme and cistus in bloom, filling the air with a scent so intense it feels theatrical. Birdwatchers come for Audouin's gull and Eurasian shag colonies nesting on the sea stacks.
The lighthouse restaurant and Dalí's rock
The Restaurant Cap de Creus, perched beside the lighthouse, serves fresh local fish and has a terrace that looks straight out to open sea — it is one of the most dramatically situated lunch tables on the entire Spanish coast. Book ahead in July and August.
A short walk north of the lighthouse brings you to the eroded granite formations that Dalí obsessively painted and photographed; you can match specific rocks to canvases in the Dalí museums. The largest formation, known locally as the 'Lion's Head', is unmistakable once you know to look for it.
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