Cofete, a small settlement in the Jandía peninsula on the western Fuerteventura coast, is definitely one of the island’s highlights. Less for the village itself than for the exciting road trip, rewarded by the most beautiful, kilometers-long sandy beach, very often even quite empty.
To get to Cofete, head south. First, you’ll have to reach Morro Jable, drive through and follow the direction to the port. You’ll see a small (still paved) exit to the right just before getting there, signposted with “Cofete”. The road soon turns into a dirt road and stays dirt all the way to Cofete. Despite not being paved, it’s fairly well maintained, and you shouldn’t have any problem driving there, even with a normal car. If renting, ensure your rental company is fine with driving off-road. I had a rented car once and a flat tire in Cofete, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience; if you’re interested in more details, please read a short recap of the event below.**
The dirt road, starting from Morro Jable, runs south to the end of the Jandía peninsula. You’ll find a small village Puerto de la Cruz there and, at the very end, also a lighthouse Faro Punta de Jandía. If you’re not in a hurry, I recommend visiting these, too. If you’re focused on Cofete, you’ll find a small exit to the right, at around 2/3 from Morro Jable to the end of the peninsula. Take this road and start climbing the mountain ridge that divides the east coast from the west. Once at the top, stop at the viewpoint (there’s a small parking there) and enjoy the most beautiful view of the Cofete coastline. From here, you’ll start descending to Cofete and the beach. Although the road is quite basic, you shouldn’t have a problem driving there, just keep it slow.
Once you reach Cofete, you’ll likely just keep driving a couple of hundred meters further and park at the end of the road, at big parking next to the beach. Then, facing south, you’ll see a really interesting cemetery with an old entrance covered in sand. As I understand, it’s not in use anymore, but it’s worth visiting while showing the proper respect.
Now you’re ready for a treat, the famous Cofete beach, recognized as one of the most beautiful European beaches. You can have a beach day there or walk north or south. If you decide on a beach day, I don’t recommend swimming, because although the currents are invisible, they’re strong. My policy is – if I see local people safely in the water, it’s probably fine. If not, I wouldn’t go in. Before establishing this policy, in my first year here, I went for a swim in Cofete and couldn’t get out of the water that didn’t even reach my knees. The struggle with the waves and the invisible underwater currents, pushing and pulling me back and forth, lasted for around 15 minutes, and I felt utterly helpless against the ocean’s power. It was a terrifying and quite eye-opening experience that I’m gladly sharing so that it won’t happen to you, too. Although Cofete beach is amazing, be careful and conscious about swimming.
If you decide to take a walk, just follow your bliss. Walking north, you’ll eventually reach El islote de las Siete Viudas, a small “kind of an island” that remains attached to the mainland (technically, a peninsula) that’s worth taking a look at. On a clear day, you’ll already see this small “island” from Cofete, but don’t get away by the apparent proximity. It will take you 45 min – 1 hour one way to get there. If the day is calm, the tide is low, and there are no waves, you’ll be able to go up and walk around safely, too. You can Google more about a legend connected to this mysterious islote.
If you decide to walk south from Cofete, the beach is (in my opinion) more interesting because you’ll be able to encounter different sand structures and other beach/ocean erosion-connected phenomena. Please note that some parts of the beach disappear underwater at high tide, and you’ll have to reroute more inland and then return to the beach. Still, very worth a hike. If you keep walking long enough, you’ll reach an impressive monolithic rock Roque del Moro. There’s a beautiful beach next to it, and you can finish your hike there before returning to Cofete. If you try to reach the monolith, keep in mind it’s only accessible in very low tide and at calm seas. Don’t be too brave trying to get there if the conditions are not suitable, because you’re facing an open ocean without any protection and the waves can hit the coast strongly.
The distance from Cofete village to Roque del Moro is almost 6 km one way. The distance from Cofete village to Islote de las Siete Viudas is around 2,5 km one way. Plan accordingly, and don’t forget to bring enough water and sunscreen; mind there’s no shade available along the beach and that you’ll be walking on the sand and probably not as fast as you would on firmer ground.
If you’re interested in seeing Roque del Moro, but don’t want to walk this much, there’s a steep road leading down from the main dirt road, not far from the viewpoint, toward Cofete. You’ll see a sign “Roque del Moro” pointing left; the road is challenging and everchanging regarding rain, wind, and other elements. Although I’ve done it with a standard car once, I recommend a 4×4; you can also try leaving it somewhere along the main road and walking down there. Finally, you’ll reach the beach mentioned above, with an impressive view of the monolith.
After returning to Cofete, you’ll probably be ready for a coffee or lunch at the only restaurant there; they offer good food and very efficient service, accompanied by the ocean down below and the mountain ridge (with the highest Fuerteventura’s peak Pico de la Zarza among them) just behind you. As you will see, it’s quite a scenery that would be a pity to miss.
Last but not least, there’s one more thing worth mentioning in Cofete – Villa Winter. The villa was designed and built sometime between 1937 and 1958 (no dates were officially confirmed) by German engineer Gustav Winter. You’ll find it on the dark slopes of the mountain ridge, direction from Cofete looking north. There are a lot of unknowns and mysteries surrounding Villa Winter. Although the Winter family claims it was their home and served for farming purposes (there are also some farming tools displayed inside), others say it was connected to Nazis in all sorts of ways. I talked to several people about the villa, also to some very old locals who still remember it from their childhood, and even their stories don’t match. Please, find more on the Wikipedia page and keep researching on your own in case you’re intrigued.
**At some point, I had a rented car (fully insured) and had a flat tire in Cofete. After bringing the car back, they were pretty loud and rude, explaining to me the “small print”, stating how driving offroad is not permitted. Although that’s true, in reality, one can only find this “small print” on the contract they give you to sign at the office window at the airport, after lots of waiting and with a bunch of people waiting behind you, so people don’t usually take time to read it through – while when booking online (as I did), the legal info they offer (and I actually took time to read) is a short Terms and Conditions, saying we are “only permitted to drive on official roads”, and the road to Cofete is official, although not paved. We had a bit of an argument about that, and they charged me 60 euros for a quite worn-out tire. Maybe interesting to add is that at that point, I didn’t have my own car here, and I was renting with them for about four months straight already, so they knew me, and I had already spent almost 1500 euros there. Bottom line – in the small print, the info stands correctly, but the information on their website is obviously deceiving. Since I’ve been their repeat customer for some time already, they should have handled this differently.
If you’re interested in the rental company I had this issue with and my recommendations regarding which rental to choose (obviously not this one..), please feel free to contact me.
