For 171 years, the lighthouse at Cabo de San Antonio in Jávea has looked out across the Mediterranean while remaining firmly off limits to the public. That is about to change.
Jávea Council is preparing to open the outdoor grounds of the historic lighthouse during October, giving residents and visitors access to an area previously reserved for lighthouse keepers and authorised personnel.
Visitors will not be able to enter the lighthouse tower itself. Instead, the restored grounds will become a new interpretation centre, sitting above the Mediterranean on a spectacular 175-metre cliff.
A lighthouse closed to visitors since 1855
The Cabo de San Antonio lighthouse first began operating in 1855.
During the 171 years since then, the site has remained closed to general visitors. Lighthouse keepers worked there over the generations, with Antonio Fontes, the last keeper at Jávea, retiring a couple of years ago.
Now the gates are preparing to open to the public for the first time.
Mayor Rosa Cardona visited the site this week with Heritage councillor Fátima Jarjor as preparations entered their final stages.
The council has not yet announced an exact opening date, but Cardona confirmed that the new attraction should welcome its first visitors during October.
What will visitors be able to see?
The new Cabo de San Antonio Lighthouse Interpretation Centre will occupy the outdoor area surrounding the lighthouse.
Information panels will introduce visitors to the natural environment of this corner of the Costa Blanca, while the location itself provides an impressive observation point over the Mediterranean.
Its position high above the sea should also make the lighthouse grounds an excellent place to watch seabirds and look for cetaceans offshore.
That includes fin whales, which pass along the Marina Alta coastline during their migrations.
A taste of the Montgó at the lighthouse
The natural environment plays an important part in the new interpretation centre.
Workers have planted native Montgó species around the lighthouse, creating a small botanical area representing some of the plants found on the mountain.
The interpretation panels also explore local wildlife, including birds and butterflies.
Restoration work has refreshed the lighthouse exterior and its surroundings ahead of the opening.
The result should offer visitors more than another viewpoint. The project aims to explain the wildlife and landscape that make Cabo de San Antonio and the Montgó such a distinctive part of the northern Costa Blanca.
A new viewpoint over Jávea
Cabo de San Antonio rises between Jávea and Denia at the eastern end of the Montgó massif.
From the lighthouse grounds, the cliffs reach around 175 metres above the Mediterranean, offering the sweeping sea views that lighthouse staff and a small number of authorised visitors previously enjoyed from inside the enclosure.
Opening the grounds will add another place to explore for anyone visiting Jávea or the Montgó area.
After 171 years behind closed gates, however, one of Jávea’s most intriguing landmarks is finally preparing to let the public through.
Bridging the Gap’s recap
- The Cabo de San Antonio lighthouse in Jávea will open its outdoor grounds to the public in October.
- The lighthouse first began operating in 1855.
- The grounds have remained closed to general visitors for 171 years.
- The lighthouse tower itself will not open to visitors.
- A new interpretation centre will explore the area’s wildlife and natural environment.
- The lighthouse stands above cliffs reaching around 175 metres.
- Workers have planted native Montgó species around the site.
- Visitors will be able to watch for seabirds and cetaceans from the headland.
- Jávea Town Council has not yet announced the exact opening date or visiting hours.
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