Punta de la Orchilla
Punta de la Orchilla
Punta de la Orchilla is the real end of Europe. In the early days centuries ago, it was even considered the end of the world. Punta de la Orchilla is located at the southwestern tip of the island of El Hierro. Here you will find the famous lighthouse Faro de Orchilla. Punta de la Orchilla is also known for Meridiano Zero, the original zero meridian of the world. The surroundings of Punta de la Orchilla are characterized by a raw and vulcanic landscape that creates beautiful colors in sunny weather. We decided to walk the last kilometers to Punta de Orchilla. Read about our amazing day at Punta de la Orchilla in this blog.
Punta de la Orchilla is the most south-western point in Europe and is therefore considered the end of Europe. Some consider Sagres to be such on the south-west tip of Portugal, but Punta de la Orchilla really is. The landscape is vulcanic and dry on this part of the vulcanic island of El Hierro. The climate on this part of the island is dry, warm and windy. Apart from the plants that live on vulcanic soil, little grows here. And there are no people living on this part of the island.
One of the nice places to visit is 'Meridiano Zero', the original zero meridian. It was Ptolemy who first used the Canary Islands (then 'lucky islands') as the basis for the zero meridian. This original zero meridian corresponds to a location more than 18 degrees west of the current zero meridian. In the end, it was the French who named the westernmost Canary Island a zero meridian in the 17th century. In 1884, after further research and more precise provisions, 22 countries at the International Meridian Conference chose Greenwich as a zero meridian. A monument has been placed at Punta de la Orchilla in honour of the original Meridiano Zero on El Hierro.
Meridiano Zero
The Meridiano Zero monument is located right on the coast and is in honor of the fact that here was the original zero meridian
In addition to Meridiano Zero, Faro de Orchilla, the active but unmanned lighthouse, is a 'must' to go see. Faro de Orchilla was commissioned in 1933 and was built in a similar style to other Canarian lighthouses. Faro de Orchilla consists of a whitewashed one-story house with dark vulcanic rock. The 25 meter high tower rises from the side of the house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. With a focal length of 132 meters above sea level, the light can be seen 24 nautic miles.
Faro de Orchilla
Faro de Orchilla is an active unmanned lighthouse built entirely in original Canarian style
Punta de Orchilla is easily accessible by car. From the main road HI-500 take the side road HI-503 which goes to Punta de la Orchilla and Faro de Orchilla. The main road HI-500 runs from Pozo de la Salud on the north coast west along the west coast to past Punta de la Orchilla and then turns into the HI-400. The side road HI-503 and the route to Punta de la Orchilla are well signposted. It is also very well possible to walk to Punta de la Orchilla. The last kilometers of the official hiking trail GR-131 lead to Punta de la Orchilla. Here is a short sidetrail, the GR-131a, which leads to the monument of Meridiano Zero. The last part of more than 1km to the monument is not accessible by regular car. This can only be done on foot or with a 'four wheel drive' (4x4).
Walk the GR-131
Take the hike to Punta de Orchilla where the last kilometers of the official hiking trail GR-131 are followed
We decided to walk those last kilometers through the fantastic vulcanic landscape. We parked the car at the intersection where the HI-503 road starts towards Faro de Orchilla. From there it is about 6km walking and descending to Faro de Orchilla. It is a beautiful walk that runs right through the vulcanic landscape and soon you can see the coast with the lighthouse in the distance. About 1km before Faro de Orchilla we first took the sidetrail from the GR-131a to the monument of Meridiano Zero which is actually right on the coast. The monument is a memorial stone with a globe in it.
From here you have a beautiful view of the vulcanic mountains inland and Faro de Orchilla which is a few hundred meters away. From there you can't walk directly to Faro de Orchilla. We tried, but it's too dangerous across the sharp lava rocks. So back to the official route and from there towards the lighthouse. Because you walk towards it you see Faro de Orchilla from different beautiful angles. At Faro de Orchilla you can walk around the lighthouse and walk over the surrounding vulcanic rocks so you have beautiful views. You look both along the west coast and the south coast and wide over the vulcanic landscape. We were lucky this day as it was beautifully clear weather and the view was endless.
The Beetlewomen travel the world with their dog Atreyu in an old VW Beetle on which they have built a tent
Like us, we recommend taking the hike to Punta de Orchilla through the vulcanic landscape. Take your time, you literally lack eyes for all the beautiful natural beauty you see. And finally, Punta de Orchilla is a great place to stand with the camper or campervan. In the Canary Islands you can park with the camper or campervan in all official parking spaces. You may not be allowed to camp, which means that you are not allowed to put a table and chairs outside. When we were there we met the Beetlewomen, two girls travelling the world with their old Volkswagen Beetle. They built a tent on the Beetle and when we spoke to them later they told us they had camped great. And it was a clear night, so their watching the stars had been fantastic!
We had a super nice day at Punta de la Orchilla but we definitely want to go back with our camper one day.
For more photo material and information about Punta de la Orchilla, please visit our Instagram post and on our Polarsteps page!
Ella & Geert.