San José-Níjar: Nature Park, Coast and Trails

San José is located in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Nature Park, which is also designated as a geopark and biosphere reserve. San José is a town with whitewashed houses arranged in terraces on the slopes around its bay and town beach.

Nature

The S03 Loma Pelada hiking trail passes through a volcanically shaped coastal landscape with cliffs and small coves. The landscape is surrounded by geological formations created by ancient lava flows.

Around the Sendero Vela Blanca are Cala Carbón, Mónsul, Los Genoveses and Torre de la Higuera to the north, and Cala Rajá, Cala del Arenal, Punta Baja, the Arrecife de las Sirenas and Cabo de Gata to the south.

Near the S04 Sendero Azul in San José is a eucalyptus grove where European goldfinches and greenfinches commonly breed; crested larks are easy to spot there.

Trails

The S04 Sendero Azul directly connects El Pozo de los Frailes and San José through the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Nature Park. As a linear trail, it is 2.6 kilometres long, has a low level of difficulty and is easily accessible.

The different landscapes, trail lengths and route types can be compared side by side when planning a day of hiking.

Coast

Playa de San José is the largest urban beach in the centre of San José. It offers fine sand and a very gently sloping entry into the water, as well as an adapted accessible entrance, toilets, showers and lifeguards.

Playa de Mónsul is located in San José, Níjar, in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Nature Park and served in 1989 as a filming location for a famous scene from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, directed by Steven Spielberg.

Access by motor vehicle to the beaches and coves of Genoveses, Barronal, Mónsul, Media Luna and Cala Carbón, located west of San José, is regulated from 20 June to 27 September.

History and Tradition

The name San José is associated with a defensive battery built in the 18th century on the orders of Charles III. It was intended to protect the bays of Sollarete and Genoveses.

San José has a traditional fishing heritage in which the Jábega and Moruna fishing gear were used.

In Cala Higuera, the Moruna fishing system is used in late spring to catch “Lechas” (Pez limón). According to the description, Cala Higuera is the last place where this traditional fishing method is practised.

Water

Centro de Buceo I-Sub is a diving centre in San José, Níjar, in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Nature Park.

Playa Cala Higuera can be reached from San José via an unpaved road that ends at a car park. Its seabed is suitable for recreational diving.

Near Cala Higuera is the Cueva del Tabaco, a cave formed in white sedimentary rock that is considered a suitable diving location.

Stay

When booking a holiday apartment in San José-Níjar, you can compare travel dates, room categories and cancellation policies on the respective offer pages. The town’s coastal, natural, cultural and water-related features provide different thematic points of reference for this.

Further destinations

Further destinations include Las Negras, El Pozo De Los Frailes, Rodalquilar, Los Albaricoques and La Isleta.

For the higher-level travel overview: Nijar.