A gastronomic tour of the Costa de la Luz
This elemental land of 'vivid, piercing' light has wonderful hiking and 'gastronomic riches'

Spain's Costa de la Luz, or Coast of Light, sweeps in a great arc from the Straits of Gibraltar up to the Portuguese border. It is an elemental land of "vivid, piercing" light, as its name suggests, but also "endless" dunes, "Wild West" horizons, and often relentless sea winds, says Lydia Bell in Condé Nast Traveller.
Inland, Moorish pueblos blancos "dust the hills like icing sugar", and vast wetlands, forested mountains and pristine river estuaries are protected in a series of glorious national parks. The hiking on offer is wonderful – and so too are the food and drink, from earthy meals prepared in village kitchens to Michelin-starred restaurants, all rooted in the region's distinctive produce.
There are gastronomic riches enough in the 60 miles between Cádiz and Tarifa, at Spain's southern tip – and among the best guides to them is the chef José Pizarro. Known in the UK for his seven restaurants and frequent appearances on the BBC's "Saturday Kitchen", Pizarro welcomes guests for three-night stays at his house, Iris Zahara, a "glassy modernist" villa perched on a sea cliff with fabulous views of the mountains of Morocco and the lights of Tangier, twinkling across the straits at night. There's cooking, as well as vineyard visits and a trip to the covered market in Barbate, for ingredients including bluefin tuna, harvested using the almadraba method – a system of nets developed by the Phoenicians three millennia ago.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At Bodega Sancha Pérez, there are organic olives and wines (notably "sweet, tanniny" Tintilla de Rota) to sample, and, at Bodega Manuel Aragón, sherries ranging from "bone-dry to treacle-sweet". A hike around the peaks of Los Alcornocales with the "chatty" guide John Carlos Milburn Rodríguez takes you to the Antigua Venta de Ojén, a village house in whose "cosy" garden Luisa Martínez Ríos serves excellent rustic meals by special request. And back on the coast, there are other great restaurants to try, including the three-Michelin-starred Aponiente, and Casa Bigote, a "traditional gem".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Interest rate cut: the winners and losers
The Explainer The Bank of England's rate cut is not good news for everyone
-
Quiz of The Week: 3 – 9 May
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will robots benefit from a sense of touch?
Podcast Plus, has Donald Trump given centrism a new lease of life? And was it wrong to release the deadly film Rust?
-
6 charming homes in Rhode Island
Feature Featuring an award-winning home on Block Island and a casket-making-company-turned-condo in Providence
-
Titus Andronicus: a 'beautiful, blood-soaked nightmare'
The Week Recommends Max Webster's staging of Shakespeare's tragedy 'glitters with poetic richness'
-
The Alienation Effect: a 'compelling' study of the émigrés who reshaped postwar Britain
The Week Recommends Owen Hatherley's 'monumental' study is brimming with 'extraordinary revelations'
-
The Four Seasons: 'moving and funny' show stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey
The Week Recommends Netflix series follows three affluent mid-50s couples on a mini-break and the drama that ensues
-
Thunderbolts*: Florence Pugh stars in 'super-silly' yet 'terrific' film
The Week Recommends This is a Marvel movie with a difference, featuring an 'ill-matched squad of antiheroes'
-
Nashville dining: Far more than barbecue and hot chicken
Feature A modern approach to fine-dining, a daily-changing menu, and more
-
Music Reviews: Coco Jones and Viagra Boys
Feature "Why Not More?" and "Viagr Aboys"
-
Art review: "Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes From Art"
Feature At the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, through Aug. 17