Urban Beaches

The old city of Rota is surrounded by different beaches such as Galeones, Rompidillo and La Costilla. There is also a beach called La Ballena which is located next to the Golf Court in the residential area of Costa Ballena.

Natural Beaches

Rota has also really beautiful and exotic beaches bathed by the Atlantic Ocean such as Puntalillo, Corrales, Punta Candor and Pegina. They are located in a wild and natural environment and they are backed by vast pinewoods.

Fishing Pens

You can access the fishing pens via Diputación Avenue through a network of paths and elevated pedestrian walkways which protect the existent dune system and pine forest. Los Corrales Beach has around 1437.64 meters long and stretches from the Playa de la Luz Hotel to the mouth of the Alcántara stream. The Playa de la Luz Hotel is situated by the beachfront and was built on an ancient tuna fishery.

The Chameleon

The chameleon is the weirdest and most attractive species of all reptiles. Nowadays it is endangered but Rota is lucky to have a significant part of the population of this species.

The chameleon is an inoffensive, slow-moving and agile animal which can measure up to 30 centimeters long. They have the ability to adapt the color of their skin to their surrounding environment in order to hide themselves. They feed on the insects they trap with their retractable tongue and live in dormant state during the winter.

Mayetería

If we talk about agriculture in Rota, we talk about mayetería. In Rota, people use the word Mayetería to refer to agriculture. The mayetos were the local farmers who worked in the fields. They have always lived devoted exclusively to grow the best fruits and vegetables which they collected with great effort in May. The origin of the house where the mayetos lived is similar to the archaic barracks from the east which were owned by the old Muslim market gardeners.

Celestino Mutis Botanic Park

It is situated near the coastline and it is a place created to relax, enjoy and study the life it contains. In this Botanic Park, you can find a small representation of the vegetation on the planet and, especially, a representation of the autochthonous flora. Some plants such as the Canary Islands Dragon Tree and the Moroccan Atlas Cedar have adapted to our dry, sunny Mediterranean climate. In this natural area you can also observe and learn about the fauna which live here such as birds, insects and reptiles. The chameleon is the most emblematic animal in the area.

The Pine Forest

It is a natural space with a great ecologic value which stretches from Virgen del Mar to Punta Candor. It was created in order to stop the sand dunes moving from the coast towards the arable lands in the town and dates back to the first decades of the 20th century. Nowadays, it has an important esthetic and landscape function.