The Silencio Beach
Playa del Silencio, Silencio in Spanish means Silence and, although you will find peace and silence everywhere in Asturias, this beach is special…Some say it’s the most beautiful beach on the Western coast of Asturias (in spite of becoming more and more crowded each year) but you will have to see it for yourself and decide. You will also find this beach under the name of Gaviero.
You get to the Playa del Silencio from the village of Castañeras, by foot or by car – the parking is not very big (it is non existent actually, you can park on the road) and during the summer you might find it full so it’s better if you leave the car in the village and walk to the beach.
It’s quite a long walk but it’s well worth it – the coastline of Cudillero is unique in Asturias, with high cliffs and spectacular islets that will take your breath away (the walk to the beach too, it’s uphill…).
Besides the “small” parking the Playa del Silencio has no amenities – no lifeguard, no showers or toilets and no nearby bars or restaurants – which would be impossible to build since the beach is so secluded and hidden behind the cliffs. And we would like it to stay this way!
There’s a viewpoint built on the cliffs along the trail that goes down from where you can take truly spectacular pictures. The descent is rather long but made of stone and cements so you can walk with high heels if you wish.
The Playa del Silencio is a 330 meters long, 32 meters wide (smaller with a high tide) beach of boulders and gravel… sorry, no sand here, just some hidden rocks scattered in the water.
Actually sandy beaches are pretty hard to find in this part of Asturias. The Playa del Silencio is not 100% nudist beach but it is used by naturists.
It’s perfect for swimming and loved by children cause the waves are not really big but be careful with the rocks hidden in the water that “hide” with high tide. By the way, with high tide the beach completely disappears so you will have to admire it from above.
The rocks at its Western side are a very good fishing point and the beach is also a favorite for people who love to practice diving. Or so I heard.
The islets surrounding the beach are also contributing to its charm and in case you wish to know their names I shall mention them here: towards West the headland is called La Forcada and is separating the Playa del Silencio from its neighbor Ribera Del Molín beach.
Towards East we have the popular and beloved Nocedal headland with an islet in front called the Cogolla Island. The cliffs here are truly impressive, around 60-80 meters high. And also peculiar, loo how the look from above…
A small secret
Very few tourists know but near the Playa del Silencio, a few minutes away, you can discover another beach and a hidden cove – all you have to do is walk from the viewpoint towards East (do you see the trail in the picture?), cross the grass field on top of the Nocedal headland and after 2 minutes you’ll discover the cove of El Riego and the (almost inaccessible) beach of La Barquera.
The legend says that in this headland there is a hidden treasure – if you happen to find one, please remember who told you about it first!
Video supplied by Objetivo Drone
Article by AsturPlaya: AsturPlaya Blog
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