Gaia Beach ClubAll Year
Sevilla, Gibraltar, Malaga
Euro
Spanish & English
36.026078 | -5.621675
The Costa del Windsurf
Tarifa: The capital of the "Costa del Windsurf" and the most happening town on the Costa de la Luz. With its lively, party atmosphere, brightly painted bars, sunny plazas and warren-like, cobblestoned streets, Tarifa has a unique vibe that belongs more to the Caribbean, California and nearby Africa than it does Spain!
It is one of the foremost windsurfing and kitesurfing destinations in the world, and the constant wind has led to hundreds of power-generating windmills erected in the area. Tarifa is the southernmost point of Europe and is a mere 11 kilometres across the straits to Africa. Tarifa’s name is derived from the Moorish leader Tarif ibn Malik who took possession of the town in 710 and was the first Moorish possession in Spain and made it in the springboard for the Arab conquest.
Six hundred years later the Castilian troops captured Tarifa (1292), however, today you will see two-thirds of the city walls that they built, plus the main gate, the Puerta de Jerez, still standing. The 15th Century church of San Mateo hides behind a beautiful late-Gothic interior behind a baroque exterior. The most impressive sight of all, however, is across the straits - the smoky-blue outline of Africa’s Rif Mountains, best seen from atop the ramparts of the tenth-century Castillo de Guzmán el Bueno.
The majority of Tarifa’s visitors come for the sand, surf and summer beach parties along Playa de Los Lances, due west of the town centre. Tarifa has one of the most varied international restaurant scenes on the coast, ranging from pizza and pasta to Mexican, Greek and North African.
Sights
Old Town
A wander around the old town’s narrow streets, which are mainly Islamic origin, is an appetiser for Morocco. The Mudéjar Puerta de Jerez was built after the Reconquista. Look in the small but action packed market (Calle Cólon) before wending your way to the mainly 15th Century Iglesia de San Mateo (Calle Sancho IV El Bravo). South of he church, the Mirador El Estrecho, atop part of the castle walls, has spectacular views across to Africa, located only 14km away.Castillo de Guzmán
Originally built in 960 on the orders of Cordoban caliph Abd ar-Rahman III, this fortress is named after Reconquista hero Guzmán El Bueno. In 1294, when threatened with the death of his captured son unless he surrendered the castle to attacking Islamic forces, El Bueno threw down his dagger for the deed to be done.Out & About
Tarifa