Cabo Penas

Cabo Penas is the northernmost point of Asturias, a quartzite headland where cliffs of around a hundred metres meet the Cantabrian sea, with a lighthouse of 1852 on the point holding a small environmental exhibition in the keepers' buildings. The coast either side is a protected landscape of stacks, inlets, blowholes and small beaches, with cliff paths running along it and seabirds including cormorants and gulls nesting on the faces. Whales and dolphins pass offshore and are occasionally seen from the point. The moorland on the headland is grazed and windswept, with gorse and heather. Verdicio and Xago beaches lie nearby with dunes behind, and the whole area is exposed to Atlantic weather.

What you actually see

• The lighthouse - an 1852 tower with an exhibition in the keepers' houses.
• The quartzite cliffs - hundred-metre faces at the northernmost point.
• The cliff paths - routes along the protected coast either side.
• The offshore passage - whales and dolphins occasionally visible.

When to go

April to June and September to November; storms in autumn and winter are dramatic from the point but the cliff edge is dangerous in wind. Summer brings visitors to the nearby beaches.

Honest expectations

The headland is fully exposed and the wind is close to constant. Cliff edges are unfenced in places. The lighthouse exhibition is small and keeps seasonal hours.

Nearby

Luanco and Candas are along the coast; Gijon and Aviles lie south.