Jebel Moussa

Classical geography placed the Pillars of Hercules at the two headlands guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean, and while the European one is agreed to be Gibraltar, the African is usually identified as Jebel Moussa - an 840-metre limestone block standing directly over the narrowest part of the strait, about fourteen kilometres from Spain. The walk up from Belyounech gives the strait laid out below with Gibraltar and the Spanish coast opposite and freighters queuing through the channel. Its ecological significance is the migration: the strait is one of the two main crossing points between Europe and Africa for soaring birds, which need land thermals and so funnel here, and in spring and autumn tens of thousands of storks, honey buzzards, black kites and short-toed eagles pass over this headland. The area is a designated biosphere reserve site with cork oak and wild olive on the lower slopes.

What you actually see

• The African Pillar - an 840-metre block over the narrowest part of the strait.
• Gibraltar opposite - the European coast about fourteen kilometres across the water.
• A migration funnel - storks and raptors crossing in tens of thousands in season.
• A biosphere reserve - cork oak and wild olive on the lower slopes.

When to go

March to May and September to November for the migration. A day.

Honest expectations

Trails are unmarked and a guide from the villages is worth taking. It is a coastal border zone with an official presence, so expect to be asked what you are doing. There are no facilities on the mountain. Wind on the ridge is severe.

Nearby

Ceuta is east along the coast; Tangier is west.