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Costa da Morte

Rocky headlands, winding inlets, small fishing towns, plunging cliffs, wide sweeping bays and many a remote, sandy beach – this is the eerily beautiful 'Coast of Death', the most westerly outpost of mainland Spain, where mysteries and legends abound. One of the most enchanting parts of Galicia, this remote, thinly populated and, for the most part, unspoilt shore runs from Muros, at the mouth of the Ría de Muros y Noia, round to Caión, just before A Coruña. Inland, narrow lanes weave through woodlands between tiny stone hamlets clustered around ancient churches in the folds of undulating hills. The treacherous coast has seen a lot of shipwrecks, and the idyllic landscape can undergo a rapid transformation when ocean mists blow in. Then it's time to settle into a local bar for some of the top-class local seafood and good Galician wines.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Costa da Morte.

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Cabo Fisterra
Panoramic Cabo Fisterra is a 3.5km drive or walk south of Fisterra town. It's crowned by a lighthouse, the Faro de Fisterra. Camino de Santiago pilgrims ending their journeys here ritually burn smelly socks, T-shirts and the like on the rocks just past the lighthouse. Many people come for sunset but it's a magnificent spot at any time (unless shrouded in fog or rain). The former lighthouse-keepers' residence is now a comfortable modern hotel, with a good cafe-bar and restaurant.
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Santuario da Virxe da Barca
The 18th-century church on the rocky seashore at the north end of town marks the spot where (legend attests) the Virgin Mary arrived in a stone boat and appeared to Santiago (St James) while he was preaching here. A fire on Christmas Day 2013 gutted the church's interior; repairs continue.
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Praia do Rostro
One of Galicia's most spectacular beaches, this broad 2km stretch of unbroken sand begins about 4km south of Lires and is a particularly magnificent sight from the headlands at either end, with the Atlantic surf pouring in. Unfortunately it's not good for swimming, but it's a wonderful walk.
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Museo Xardín de Man
This quirky and touching open-air sculpture garden made from rocks and ocean bric-a-brac, beside Camelle's pier, is the work of 'Man' (Manfred Gnädinger), an eccentric long-time German resident who lived in a hut here on the ocean's edge and died in 2002.
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Cabo Touriñán
Picturesque rocky, lighthouse-crowned Cabo Touriñán, 17km southwest of Muxía, is great for a breezy walk. The northwest corner of the cape, Punta de Sualba, is the westernmost point of peninsular Spain (longitude 9º18').
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Ceminterio dos Ingleses
The rugged coast between Camariñas and Camelle, followed by the Ruta do Litoral, is one of the most beautiful stretches of the Costa da Morte. Ten kilometres out of Camariñas you reach the Ceminterio dos Ingleses, the sad, lonely burial ground from one of the Costa da Morte's most tragic shipwrecks, which took the lives of 172 British naval cadets in 1890.
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Praia de Nemiña
This beautiful, 1.5km sandy curve, stretching north from the mouth of the Ría de Lires, attracts surfers in numbers from roughly April to November and has a couple of surf schools. The ría mouth can be crossed at low tide in summer, but otherwise it's a 2.5km walk (or a roundabout drive of 9km) from Lires village to the beach.
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Praia da Mar de Fora
Spectacular Praia da Mar de Fora, on the ocean (western) side of the Fisterra peninsula, is reachable via an 800m walk from the top of town. The scenery is glorious, but with strong winds and waves, the beach is not safe for swimming.
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Dolmen de Dombate
About 11km inland from Laxe, this impressively large 3700 BCE megalithic tomb was encased in a protective pavilion in 2011. Visitors can walk round inside the pavilion but may not enter the tomb itself. A full-size replica, which you can go inside, stands in the adjacent visitors centre.