Mirador del Salmo
A roadside viewpoint in the municipality of Pájara, looking down on the lagoon and sandbar of Playa de Sotavento. The tide redraws the water completely, so it never looks the same twice. Its rainbow bench has become one of the most photographed corners in the south of Fuerteventura.
Mirador del Salmo opens onto one of the most unusual landscapes in Fuerteventura: the lagoon that forms between the shore and the sandbar running for several kilometres along Playa de Sotavento, in Pájara. At low tide an immense sand flat appears, threaded with turquoise channels; at high tide it fills and turns into a shallow, luminous sheet of water. The surroundings are a protected natural area, with salt-hardened coastal plants such as the siemprevivas, and wading birds feeding in the lagoon: plovers, sandpipers and whimbrels.
Access is from the FV-2 road between Costa Calma and Morro Jable, and there is parking beside the viewpoint itself, so the stop is quick and needs no walking. The wind here is constant, which is why these waters are a world reference for windsurfing and kitesurfing; watching the sails cross the lagoon from above is part of the show. The best light comes late in the afternoon, with the sun setting over the Atlantic. Hold on to caps and light objects, keep to the marked paths and do not disturb the birds.
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