Faro de Roche, Maritime lighthouse in Conil de la Frontera, Spain

The Roche Lighthouse sits on the cliffs of Cabo de Roche along the southern coast. The 20-meter-tall structure occupies a rocky promontory that juts into the sea, making it visible from quite a distance.

The Torre de Roche was built during the 16th century as part of the coastal watchtower network ordered by Philip II to defend against Berber pirates. The campaign from Gibraltar to Ayamonte was entrusted to royal commissioner Luis Bravo de Laguna, and the Duke of Medina Sidonia also promoted square-plan towers like this one. After the Peninsular War it was largely abandoned, and in 1986 the Ministry of Public Works restored it and converted it into a lighthouse.

The tower's square plan marks it as one of the watchtowers promoted by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, owner of the region's almadraba tuna traps, rather than by the Crown, whose towers were round. Its guards signalled with fires or smoke columns to the Torre del Puerco to the north and Torre Blanca to the south.

You can reach the lighthouse by walking on wooden and earth paths that connect from a nearby parking area. The pathways are straightforward to follow and the location is easy to access by car.

The beam from this structure reaches out about 25 nautical miles across the water, making it a critical navigation point for vessels in the area. At night, its light is clearly visible from the shore and shapes how the coast looks after dark.