Cap de Creus Natural Park

Natural parks, Nature reserve, PEIN (Plan for areas of natural interest), Natural site of national interest, Natura 2000 network, Natura 2000 Network: Special Protection Area (SPA)

The Cap de Creus Natural Park lies at the easternmost side of the Iberian Peninsula, it is a space of great biological, geological and scenic importance, comprising two very different elements: land and sea.

The cape of Creus peninsula is located in the eastern most part of the Iberian peninsula, halfway between the district towns of Cadaqués, Port de la Selva, Selva de Mar, Llançà, Vilajuïga, Pau, Palau-saverdera and Roses. This is where the Cap de Creus Natural Park, the first maritime-terrestrial park in the country, can be found. It was created thanks to a law in 1998, which protects the cape of Creus peninsula (some 11,000 hectares) and its marine environment (some 3,000 hectares).

They are areas of exceptional biological, geological and scenic quality, which required protection with a special care regime. The geological configuration, unique in the world, and the rich vegetation, in which Mediterranean and continental elements coexist, have led to numerous strange species, some endemic. The area also has a high potential for faunal recovery.

The park has two differentiated protected areas: land and maritime. In the land area there are three natural areas of national interest: from Cap Gros to Cap de Creus, to the north, which includes a nature reserve, that of Cap de Creus, with the Maça Major and s'Encalladora islands; Falconera point on the Norfeu cape, to the south (the latter also a nature reserve), and the Rodes mountain range. All the islands, small and large, in the marine environment of Cap de Creus are also Natural Sites of National Interest.

The area of the protected marine area ranges between 1.3 and 0.2 miles out to sea, with three partial nature reserves: the Farallons, the Creus cape (between the island of Culleró and Jugadora cove) and the Norfeu cape. The north of the s'Encalladora island is a marine nature reserve. The waters are clean and pure, and the wealth of underwater life is exceptional, with species such as corals (a significant source of income in other times) and seaweed meadows.

In addition to the unquestionable biological and geological value of the area, is the exceptional scenic beauty that it offers: wild, varied and colourful. Abrupt cliffs, dark rocks furrowed by the wind and salt, islands and secluded coves. There are a number of places that are exposed to the fury of the tramontana winds and others that are shielded from this dry and wild wind, where the views are simply unrepeatable, as appreciated by celebrities such as Josep Pla or Salvador Dalí.

The architectural heritage of the Creus cape is first rate. The most notable example is the Sant Pere de Rodes monastery, today the park offices.

The park information centre, in the monastery, has information about the different routes and activities that are organised.

Virtual tour:

- Cala Jugadora
- Cala Tulip
- Pas de Claveguera
- La Vall de Santa Creu - el Port de la Selva
- Pau - La Creu Blanca

Year of declaration: 1998
Regulations: Law 4/1998, 12th March, for protection of Cap de Creus (DOGC 2611, 01-04-98).
Area: 13834
Ownership: Public
District: Cadaqués; Port de la Selva, el; Selva de Mar, la; Llançà; Vilajuïga; Pau; Palau-saverdera; Roses.
Visitor centres: S

Annual closing: Open all year round
Languages: Catalan, Spanish

Facilities

Accommodation

Parking

Picnic area

Toilets

Shop

Castle

Chapel

Museum

Restaurant

Viewpoint

Signposted itineraries

Flora

The tree species do not occupy a very large area; the most frequent are the white pine and the cork oak. Maquis and undergrowth occupy the majority of the ground and the most common species are the mastic tree, cade, tree heather and the flat leaf gall and spiny broom. In the coastal area, we can find plants that are more adapted to windy, salty conditions, which form the most interesting vegetation in the park and are unique in Catalonia. The most typical species are sea lavender, Limonium tremolsii and, above all, Seseli farrenyi, a real gem in the world of botany, as it cannot be found anywhere else in the world. On the seabed we can highlight the marine seed plants, which form extensive meadows on the sandy or muddy areas of seafloor.

Fauna

Birds are the most prominent species among the vertebrates. On the cliffs we can observe the Bonelli's eagle, the peregrine falcon and the Eurasian eagle-owl. Among the marine birds, we can find several species of seagulls, European shags, shearwaters, common terns and the northern gannet. The sea bed is thriving with a remarkable presence of red coral and gorgonians. The European lobster and European spiny lobster live alongside a wide variety of fish like the white sea bream, the saddled sea bream, the salema porgy, the red scorpionfish and the grouper. On dry land we can highlight the beetle Pseudochlamys raholai, the true bug Campylosteia serena and, above all, the snail Mastigophallus rangianus, an endemic species of Cap de Creus. There is a broad spectrum of amphibian populations, from the Mediterranean tree frog to the common toad. The presence, although scarce, of the Hermann’s tortoise and the Spanish pond turtle is also interesting.

Routes

El Parque Natural dispone de una quincena de itinerarios sencillos, diseñados de forma circular para conocer diferentes valores naturales y culturales a través de antiguos caminos tradicionales. Algunos de los más emblemáticos con: Cabo de Norfeu (desde Roses), Punta de cabo de Creus (desde Cadaqués) o La Creu Blanca (desde Pau). Hay dos que también se pueden seguir en BTT. Además, los senderos GR 11 y GR 92 cruzan el espacio.

Bird-watching tourism

El cabo de Creus es un lugar privilegiado en cuanto a la observación de pájaros, especialmente en primavera y otoño, cuando se producen los movimientos migratorios.