Cabo de Sao Vicente

Land runs out here. The cliffs at Cabo de Sao Vicente stand vertical above the Atlantic at the southwestern corner of mainland Europe, with the sea working at their base and nothing beyond but water. A lighthouse occupies the point, its beam among the strongest on this coast, and a small museum inside the compound covers the navigation history of the cape. Anglers sit on the edge with long rods, which is alarming to watch. Wind is close to permanent and the vegetation is pressed flat by it. Sunset draws a crowd and a line of vans, but the clifftop walk in either direction empties out within a few hundred metres.

History

Standing stones nearby show the headland was sacred ground in Neolithic times; the Greeks called it Ophiussa and the Romans Promontorium Sacrum, and Strabo described it as the westernmost point of the known world. Its present name comes from the fourth-century deacon Saint Vincent, whose body by legend was brought ashore here, and a shrine over his grave was, according to the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi, always guarded by ravens (Wikipedia, Cape St. Vincent).

The landscape

• The cliff edge - vertical rock dropping straight into open Atlantic swell.
• The lighthouse - a working light with a small navigation museum.
• The clifftop paths - short walks that leave the crowd behind quickly.
• Seabirds and cliff anglers - gulls on the ledges and rods over the drop.

When to go

Spring and autumn bring clearer air and fewer people than midsummer. Sunset is the busy hour, so arrive early for parking or come in the morning instead, when the light hits the cliffs from behind you. Wind rarely lets up, so carry a layer even in August. Winter storms make the exposed edges genuinely dangerous.

Before you go

It is a car park, a lighthouse and a fence, and some visitors find that thin reward for the drive. The wind is constant and cold, the souvenir stalls are cheerful clutter, and sunset means crowding along one stretch of railing. Away from the point there are no barriers and the rock is loose. Buses run only in the warmer months.

Nearby

Sagres and its fortress headland, Praia do Beliche and the Vicentina coast.

Key facts