Playa de los Muertos

Playa de los Muertos is a long bank of white pebbles at the foot of a dark cliff, with water that goes from turquoise to deep blue within a few metres of the shore because the beach shelves steeply. The contrast between pale stones, black rock and blue sea is the reason it is photographed so often.

There is no road down. You leave the car at the viewpoint on the Carboneras road and walk fifteen minutes down a steep, loose track — and back up again afterwards, which is the harder half. Because of that the beach is quiet even in July compared with anything else on this coast.

The viewpoint at the top is a shot in itself: the whole bay, the cliff line and the beach curving below. Down on the pebbles, morning light comes over the headland and lights the cliff; late afternoon puts the beach in shadow, so this is a morning location.

There is no shade, no bar and no water down there, and the pebbles get hot. Bring water and shoes you can walk in. The steep shelf and undertow make the swimming serious, so it is not a place to put small children in the water for a photograph.