Punta Paloma, Beach in Tarifa, Spain

Punta Paloma is a cape in the Valdevaqueros inlet, in the municipality of Tarifa, at the foot of a large dune built by the east wind carrying sand westward, where the beach becomes Valdevaqueros. The sand is fine and golden, the waves moderate, and the buildings rustic. The same name covers the beach, a former watchtower site and a coastal battery on the hill above.

Above the beach, on the hill known as Paloma Alta, a coastal battery of three 381/45 guns made by Vickers in England was installed, protected by 4 to 5 metres of concrete with a buried magazine and a lift. The battery fired its last shot in 2008. Between the coves of Bolonia and Valdevaqueros stood a 16th-century watchtower ordered by Philip II; by 1826 a document recorded that neither the tower nor its ruins remained.

The name Tarifa comes from Tarif, a client of the governor Musa ibn Nusayr, who led a raid across the Strait in 710 with 100 horsemen and 400 foot soldiers and landed at Jazirat Tarif, the island of Tarif, today the Isla de las Palomas. The historian J. Vallvé instead links the name to Tarfa or Tarf, meaning "point", which the Romans already used for this tip of Europe.

Visitors should plan for a walk of roughly 300 meters from the parking area, and arriving early helps during warmer months. The location can become crowded at peak times, so timing makes a difference for a more enjoyable visit.

The coastal battery Paloma Alta, hidden in the hill above the beach, kept three 381/45 guns made by Vickers in England under 4 to 5 metres of concrete. The last shot was fired in 2008, and the site belongs to the Spanish army.