Praia dos Cristais

About Praia dos Cristais

A small rocky cove on the Costa da Morte, in the Baleeira inlet below the town cemetery and on the Camiño dos Faros walking route. For decades a nearby tip took household rubbish, including bottles, and the Atlantic swell has rounded the glass and piled it into the cove, once known as Areal dos Botiños. A clean-up by the Xunta in 2004 was stopped after protests by residents and environmental groups, though a lot of glass had already been removed.

Sea glass at Praia dos Cristais

The shore is made largely of rounded glass: greens from wine bottles, whites from preserving jars and rarer blues from medicine bottles and siphons.

Visiting Praia dos Cristais

Getting there

In a cove below Laxe cemetery, reached on foot from a nearby car park.

Parking

Nearby car park, then a short walk.

Toilets

No permanent facilities at the beach.

Safety

Check the tide times before you go and head out on a falling tide, so you're never cut off. Keep away from the bottom of cliffs, wear sturdy shoes on rocks, and follow the collecting rules above.