Owing to its location, accessibility, activities and surroundings, the Playa del Matorral is one of the most interesting beaches in Fuerteventura for visitors. Located on the outskirts of Morro Jable, a tourist resort in the municipality of Pájara, this is a fine example of the beaches found in the Jandía Peninsula in the south of the island: vast, endless, practically unspoilt beaches of fine golden sands, comprising a paradise for swimmers and lovers of water sports.
Where is the Playa del Matorral beach?
Apart from Morro Jable and Costa Calma—the area’s two tourist resorts—the Jandía Peninsula is an arid and inhospitable territory, which is even uncomfortable for the vital development of its increasingly scarce inhabitants, who primarily work in the fishing industry. One might say that Jandía is a type of island within the island of Fuerteventura. In fact, the peninsula is separated from the island itself by the La Pared isthmus, which highlights its insularity.
This isolation, perpetuated over the course of centuries, has led to the exceptional conservation of its territory. In 1987, the Jandía Peninsula was declared a Natural Park. The Playa del Matorral beach perfectly encapsulates its surroundings. Located on the eastern coast of the peninsula (referred to by locals as sotavento), this beach is located close to Morro Jable. Its proximity to a population hub makes it a semi-urban beach, offering easy access and a wide range of services. These include sunbed and parasol rentals, public toilets, year-round lifeguard service, excellent disabled access and beachfront bars and restaurants all the way along the coastline, amongst others. All of these services, combined with the cleanliness of its transparent waters and the quality of its fine sand, mean that this beach is awarded the status of a Blue Flag beach season after season.
How to arrive at the Playa del Matorral beach
Most tourists visiting Fuerteventura stay around the Puerto del Rosario area, whether they’re travelling by ferry or plane (landing at its nearby airport). Therefore, if you’re looking to visit the Playa de Matorral beach from Puerto del Rosario, you simply need to take the South Fuerteventura (FV-2) motorway, which will take you to Morro Jable.
If you take this motorway from Puerto del Rosario, it will turn into a dual-carriageway before you reach the La Pared isthmus, with two lanes of traffic travelling in each direction. In any case, it will take you more or less one hour and fifteen minutes to cover the 88 kilometres separating Puerto del Rosario from the Playa del Matorral beach. If leaving from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, you could catch a ferry that takes you directly to Morro Jable.
On the Avenida del Salazar there is a large car park set just a few metres from the beach, which can be accessed by foot.
What to see along the Playa del Matorral beach?
More than three kilometres long, stretching from Morro Jable to the Jandía beaches, the Matorral coastline offers various interesting activities besides sunbathing and taking a dip in its clean waters.
It could be argued that the beach should be viewed as three distinct large areas, separated by the Morro Jable lighthouse. The area to the south of the lighthouse, close to the town centre and its oceanfront promenade, is popular with families and couples with young children. The area to the north of the lighthouse is more expansive, and home to the Jandía salt marsh. There are fewer swimmers in this part of the beach, with nudism permitted in this stretch of sand. Finally, there is a well-known surf spot around the lighthouse itself, where, in the right conditions, surfers can ride the sought-after ‘Red Cross’ wave. On these days, the beach is filled with surf lovers.
Morro Jable lighthouse
Standing at 60 metres tall, the white lighthouse found at the tip of the Playa del Matorral beach dominates the entire coastline. It was built relatively recently, becoming operational in 1996. It is a simple and narrow tower, with an 11-metre diameter at the base that reduces to 7 metres at the top of the column underneath the gallery.
The lighthouse is totally automatic. Its two lamps emit discharges of 400W of power from a white light at the rate of two long flashes every 10 seconds, which can be seen from 20 nautical miles away.
Jandía salt marsh
Close to the lighthouse, particularly on its northern slope, the Jandía salt marsh runs parallel to the coastline. This is a protected natural space spanning slightly more than 11 hectares, comprising a rare example of a very peculiar ecosystem: a plant habitat capable of withstanding periodic flooding caused by high tides.
Despite being several hundred metres from the shore at low tide, the salt marsh regularly floods with sea water and its plants become submerged. However, these plants manage to withstand the concentration of salt that they consume, developing thick leaves in which they concentrate water and reduce its salinity, or by secreting salt through small glands. Some plants that can be found in this particular wetland include the Heberdenia excelsa, the Sideroxylon canariensis and the Limonium arborescens.
The salt marsh also represents a refuge, hunting ground and nesting area for a wide range of birds, such as the great grey shrike, the hoopoe, the Berthelot’s pipit, the kestrel, the Atlantic canary and the Eurasian blue tit, amongst many other European and African species. It is also home to squirrels, hedgehogs, Atlantic lizards and loggerhead sea turtles. Given the exceptional nature of this ecosystem, we recommend that you don’t access it by foot. Instead, you should enjoy it from a distance with a good pair of binoculars.
Available activities on the Playa del Matorral beach
In the southernmost part of the beach, close to the town centre, visitors are able to rent surfing and kitesurfing equipment or take beginner’s lessons in these sports.
If the atmospheric conditions are suitable and it isn’t a windy day, you can also rent paddle boards or canoes by the hour.
Morro Jable also has various nets, which you can use for a fantastic game of beach volleyball.
Starting from a hotel complex located at the northern tip of the beach, a bike lane runs parallel to the Avenida del Salazar all the way to Morro Jable. This bike ride, which we also highly recommend, allows you to enjoy the views of the salt marsh and the extensive Playa del Matorral beach.
