Torre de Cerrillos, Coastal watchtower ruins in El Ejido, Spain

Torre de Cerrillos is a ruined watchtower built of coursed masonry at the edge of the sea, between El Ejido and Roquetas de Mar, within the Punta Entinas-Sabinar Natural Area. It is a small almenara tower, designed for a guard of two or three men, and now stands in a state of progressive ruin.

Yusuf I of Granada fortified the coast against piracy in the 14th century, and his vizier Abu al-Nuayn Ridwan (in office 1329–1359) had towers built along the kingdom's shore, including Cerrillos, Los Bajos and Las Roquetas. The present tower is a late-16th-century almenara rebuilt under Philip II against Berber corsair raids, a small masonry watch post for two or three men.

This watchtower was part of a network that connected coastal communities through shared defense, a system that shaped how people lived along this shore. Traces of that vigilant maritime culture remain visible in the stone itself.

This site is located within a protected natural area, so visitors should stay on designated paths and respect the surrounding environment. The best time to visit is when light conditions favor viewing the stone details and taking photographs.

The tower served as the first boundary marker when Roquetas de Mar separated from the municipality of Felix in the 18th century. Maps and council minutes from that era place it within the new municipality of Roquetas, while other documents assign it to El Ejido, so its municipal归属 remains unsettled.