Bring a picnic if you plan to stay for a while, as there is not much there apart from a lighthouse, a coffee shop and a gift house!
“Aqui, onde a terra se acaba e o mar começa…”
Here, where the land ends and the sea begins — this is how Luís de Camōes, one of Portugal’s most revered poets, described the Cabo da Roca in his The Lusiads. This cape is the westernmost part of continental Europe, and has long held a romantic significance in the hearts of people. After all, until the late 14th century it was believed to be the edge of the world. The Romans knew it as Promontorium Magnum, and during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th century it was known simply as the Rock of Lisbon.
Cliffhanger
The western coast of Portugal is a mix of tranquil sandy beaches and surging rocky cliffs. Around Cabo da Roca, the latter are in force: the surrounding cliffs are more than 100 metres in height, carved by the elements from crystalline rocks.
Sadly a good deal of the natural wildlife has been lost. Several decades ago residents introduced the invasive plant species Carpobrotus edulis as ground cover, but the creeping, mat-forming plant has since overrun much of the land on Cabo da Roca. Nonetheless the views remain spectacular. Watch the sun rise over the mountains to the east, or watch it sink into the dark waves of the Atlantic to the west.
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