The lighthouse at Cabo Ortegal.

© Rudolf Ernst/Getty Images/iStock

Cabo Ortegal

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Four kilometres north of the workaday fishing town of Cariño looms the mother of Spanish capes, Cabo Ortegal, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Bay of Biscay. Great stone shafts drop sheer into the ocean from such a height that the waves crashing on the rocks below seem pitifully benign. Os Tres Aguillóns, three jagged rocky islets, provide a home to hundreds of marine birds.

On the road from Cariño, you can stop at the Miradoiro Gabeira viewpoint to take the well-marked Senda de San Xiao path to the little Ermida de San Xiao do Trebo chapel (1.6km). The path traverses a forest, crosses the Río Soutullo and affords grand views. From the chapel you can rejoin the road and continue 1.5km to Cabo Ortegal.


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