Cala Higuera Watchtower

Cala Higuera Watchtower – Nijar

The Cala Higuera Watchtower is located in Punta de los Frailes, in the Andalusian municipality of Nijar, province of Almería.

The danger always came from the sea. Pirates and Barbary corsairs, Monfis, Turks, and later the naval actions of the English and Dutch, constantly threatened these latitudes. For centuries, the Almería coast became a very dangerous, uninhabited and insecure place.

It was in the 18th century when Carlos III, through the enactment of the Defense Regulations of the Kingdom of Granada, established an effective coastal defense system based on surveillance and defense through the deployment of a total of 113 fortifications, including towers, castles, batteries and strong houses, of which 35 corresponded to the Almeria coast. The 16th century Torre de Cala Higuera is part of that defensive system.

The watchtowers usually have a square or circular floor plan, are made of masonry and have two solid thirds, while in the upper one there is a room that is accessed through a window-door.

If you stand from the observation point of any watchtower, you will see that they are located in strategic places so that from one watchtower you can see the next and the previous one. When danger was noticed, the towers communicated with each other through fire and smoke; thus the voice of alarm was given to the castles and strong houses, guaranteeing the security of the territory.

The Torre de Cala Higuera or de los Frailes is also known in the documentation as Loma Pelada, without confusing it with the barracks of the same name, of which there are still remains.

The structure of the Torre de Cala Higuera is very simple. It is a frustoconical volume, built in masonry and brick. It comprises a chamber located in the upper part and a terrace. Above it, the entrance hole, located at a great height, is flat and bordered with brick, with another at a lower level on the right side.

Níjar Town Hall