ア・コルーニャの天然記念物・トップ20

A beautifully designed compass rose below the lighthouse.

I don't know if it's drinkable, it doesn't say anything but I drank like an animal from it.

The Garden of San Carlos

The compass rose next to the Torre de Hercules lighthouse.

The ramp to the tower is a bit bumpy. If you drive in the middle, you'll be on smooth, continuous slabs. But definitely drive up. The view is magnificent. There may be public toilets open at the foot of the lighthouse.

Temporarily closed. October 26, 2024

The garden of San Carlos was built as a defensive castle outside the walls in the 14th century and was joined to the city in the 16th century. Little by little it lost importance as a bastion or "old fortress" and, after the gunpowder magazine it contained exploded, it was abandoned until it was recovered as a garden in the 18th century by Carlos F. de Croix.

The way to the summit is a bit sweaty, but easy to walk in shorts and well signposted. You reach the summit in about 70 minutes. With the knowledge I have now gained after the tour I have just completed, I would now take the same route back. The way back - as others have already written - quickly becomes very thorny (gorse and blackberries) and the path becomes increasingly narrow. You are bound to get caught on the thorns all the time. It was a pretty bloody affair in shorts. In addition, shortly after leaving the summit, a thick cloud of fog rolled in from the sea and swallowed the mountain. With the cloud came heavy, constant drizzle. I was completely soaked in no time - from above and from the sides due to contact with the vegetation. All of this made the way back feel four times longer than the ascent and was then simply no longer fun. What the rain also showed: good hiking boots are absolutely essential. The rocks then become quite slippery in places. The climb was in mid-August, starting at around 10 a.m. (it is highly recommended to start early, as it is almost always cloudy/foggy in the afternoon) at 20 degrees.