Playa de Cofete

Cofete stays with you. Eleven kilometres of pale sand run along the Atlantic side of the Jandía peninsula, with the jagged ridge of the Jandía mountains rising almost 800 metres directly behind. The water comes with a warning, and it belongs at the top: the currents here are powerful, there is no rescue service, and this is not a beach to swim at. Come for the sand and the mountains instead.

There are no hotels, no apartment blocks, no beach bars and no umbrellas. A hamlet of a dozen houses clings to the hillside, holding the Villa Winter mansion and a single restaurant, Restaurante Cofete, with empty space in every direction around them.

Scale is what sets it apart. The beach is big enough that a hundred other people on it still leaves it feeling deserted. Light shifts across the mountains all day, the Atlantic hammers the shore, and the wind tears white plumes of spray off the wave crests. It photographs well from any angle, which is why it keeps turning up on lists of Spain's most beautiful beaches.

It is a strange place too, faintly haunted. Villa Winter broods on the hillside with its peculiar 1940s history. Loggerhead sea turtles nest on the sand. And the ocean here feels like ocean, nothing like the sheltered water on the east coast.

There are three ways in. By car, a 4WD is strongly advised for the dirt track from Morro Jable, which climbs a mountain pass before dropping to the beach — around 45 minutes. A seasonal shuttle bus runs from Morro Jable a few times a day in peak season and costs a fraction of a 4WD hire. And the same pass can be walked: beautiful, hard, about two and a half hours each way.

Most car hire companies forbid the Cofete track in their contracts. In practice, plenty of people drive it slowly and carefully in a standard car. After heavy rain it gets considerably worse; in the dry, a small car will manage it if you are patient.

Once you are there, the day is walking, photographs and Villa Winter for its sheer oddness. A handful of very experienced swimmers get in on rare, exceptionally calm days, but the currents make that a bad idea for almost everyone. Restaurante Cofete in the hamlet does good fresh fish at fair prices — a decent reward after the drive or the walk. Bring plenty of water, food, sunscreen and a warm layer: the wind can be sharp even in summer.

The Atlantic at Cofete is dangerous. Powerful open-ocean currents, a strong undertow and no rescue service of any kind — and conditions can change fast on a day that looked calm when you arrived. There are drownings here every couple of years. The people at Restaurante Cofete and the park rangers know what the sea is doing; ask them, and take the answer seriously.

Treat Cofete as a beach for walking, photography and paddling at the edge, and nothing more. If you want a proper Atlantic swim, do it on the sheltered east coast instead — Sotavento or Costa Calma.

The heat is the other hazard. No shade on the beach, no shops, no facilities, and in summer the sand is searingly hot by 11am. Carry more water than you expect to drink. Restaurante Cofete is the only place to buy a drink, and it is a steep walk back up the hill from the sand.