Tangier to Cape Spartel and Caves of Hercules: Day trip

Cape Spartel is the most northwestern point of the African continent. The rocky spur, is the southern ‘pincer’ of the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Atlantic Ocean connects to the Mediterranean Sea. At 1,000 feet above sea level, Cape Spartel offers fantastic views of both bodies of water. The lighthouse atop the cape was built by Sultan Muhammad III in 1864. Winding beneath the cape are the legendary Caves of Hercules.

Winding under Africa’s most northwestern point, the Caves of Hercules is steeped in legend. According to one myth, Hercules rested here during his 11th labor - stealing three golden apples from Garden of the Hesperides. Local lore also says that the cave complex is actually the mouth of a 15-mile-long tunnel connecting Morocco and Spain - which is how the rock of Gibraltar’s famed macaque monkeys got there from Africa. While the cave doesn’t show evidence for either, its local uses are equally fascinating - local Berbers cut their own entrance and used the site as a quarry up until the 1920s when it became a tourist attraction and occasional brothel.