Discover Ajo: Coast, Culture and Trails by Cabo

At Cabo de Ajo stands Faro de Ajo, at the northernmost geographical point of the autonomous community of Cantabria. In 2020, Okuda San Miguel created a painting on Faro de Ajo depicting Cantabria’s faunal diversity in more than one hundred colours. The Ría de Ajo is part of the ES0000143 bird protection area “Marismas de Santoña, Victoria, Joyel y Ría de Ajo”. Cabo de Ajo lies next to the ría and the Campiazo estuary.

Coast and Nature

Playa de Cuberris faces north and lies at the mouth of the small Arroyo de la Bandera. Playa de Antuerta can be reached on foot via the ascent to Punta Cárcabo. In 2015, the surroundings of Faro de Ajo were equipped with fencing and footpaths that enabled visitors to go for walks. Cueva de Nando is dated to approximately 30,000 years ago; the municipality of Ajo opened it to the public. On the coast, La Ojerada consists of two rock arches.

History and Culture

The Convento de San Ildefonso, built in 1587, is located in Barrio de Camino. The surviving church of the convent has a stone altarpiece by Rodrigo de los Corrales Isla. The architectural complex includes a 16th-century Neoclassical cloister with two storeys and a cistern in the courtyard.

The parish church of San Martín de Tours in Ajo developed from a lay monastery founded around 850 by the ancestors of the Camino family. It has three naves of equal height. The parish church’s main altarpiece was commissioned from Rodrigo de los Corrales Isla in 1626.

A branch of the Way of St James led some pilgrims to the Church of San Martín de Tours in Ajo. On the Camino Costero de Santiago, pilgrims continued to Barrio de Camino, where they could rest at a hostel in the Dominican monastery there. A historic route of the Way of St James to Ajo led across the ría to the Ermita de Santiago de Azaga.

The Santuario de Santiago de Azaga is located at the entrance to the Ría de Ajo, next to a Roman and medieval landing place; only a few remains and the devotional image have survived.

Other Places

Another place in the same area is Guemes.

Water Activities

Activities at Playa de Cuberris include windsurfing, fishing, paddle sports and volleyball. The waves attract numerous surfers and wind-sports enthusiasts. An approximately 11-kilometre circular hike runs along the northernmost tip of Cantabria and showcases the landscape of this northernmost tip. At high tide and with the help of the currents, paddle surfers use their boards to reach small coves that would otherwise be difficult to access.

For the higher-level travel overview: Bareyo.