Gibraltar, a small British outpost in Southern Iberia

A few kilometers from the southernmost point of continental Europe you’ll find Gibraltar, a tiny British outpost, surrounded by Spain and the Mediterranean Sea with Morocco less than thirty kilometers away on the other side of the sea.

I have a strange obsession with exclaves/enclaves, autonomous areas and other territories that aren’t technically countries but differ greatly from their motherland. So when I travelled around Southern Europe last summer, I knew I had to visit Gibraltar. The place has always bewildered me, so it was about time I went there to see it and learn more about this geographical and political oddity.

Is Gibraltar a country?

The political and geographical position of Gibraltar is confusing to say the least. Gibraltar is one of 14 British Overseas Territories, which means that it’s not its own country. It’s also not part of the United Kingdom, although it falls within its legal jurisdiction. It has its own government, but since it’s under British control, it cannot be considered a country. To top it off, Gibraltar is claimed by its neighbouring country, Spain.

This whole mess began during the War of Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714 when the British Fleet captured the strategically important piece of land. On August 4th 1704, 15,000 canons were fired from the fleet into the city. When the British landed in the city the same morning, they were not met by much opposition. Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht, but this hasn’t stopped Spain trying to seize Gibraltar over the years. In 1968, a referendum was taken on whether or not the citizens of Gibraltar wanted to remain with Britain or become part of Spain. 12,762 people voted to stay with Britain, whereas only 44 people voted for Spanish sovereignty. A referendum was held again in 2002 with a similar result. Gibraltar remains British because it’s the people’s will.

Crossing into Gibraltar

For my visits to Gibraltar and Ceuta, I based myself in the Spanish port city of Algeciras. Algeciras is known as one of the ugliest cities in Spain, so for me it was purely a convenient and cheap place to sleep while visiting these two interesting places.

My trip to Gibraltar began shortly before noon when I caught a bus to La Linea de la Conception, the Spanish border town to Gibraltar. An hour later, I was in British territory after a hassle-free border crossing (I wonder if Brexit will change this?). The first thing I saw was a red telephone box. Welcome to Great Britain!

Through the airstrip to the city

It was funny to think that I was now technically in the same country as my mum, dad, grandma and younger brother who were all vacationing in Scotland at the time. But I was at the very south of Europe, on the tip of the Iberian Peninsula.

To get to the city center, I had to walk through the airport runway that separates the peninsula in two, and then through a small tunnel before a different world came to sight. I was in the main square, Grand Casemates Square, and it was so obviously British. If it wasn’t for the heat, I would’ve thought I was in a small town in England.

Gibraltar’s city center

Even though Gibraltar takes up only 6,5 square kilometers of land, it’s home to 30,000 people, making it one of the world’s most densely populated territories. And with the Rock of Gibraltar taking up the majority of the land mass, most of the inhabitants live in the tiny city center, making it seem rather cramped.

English is the official language there, although Spanish is widely spoken as well as a local language called Llanito, a mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English. I was surprised to hear mostly Spanish on the streets and in the shops, although the many British pubs, shops and flags made me feel right at home as a half-Brit. I may or may not have spent a bit too long looking in all the familiar shops. Honestly, being in British territory again made me so happy, and I was left with an overwhelming feeling of not wanting to leave again.

A cable car to the Rock of Gibraltar

The entire territory of Gibraltar exists on a limestone rock bed, and behind the city center is a giant limestone protrusion, known as the Rock of Gibraltar. Famous for housing a large population of wild Barbary macaque monkeys, this was a place I knew I couldn’t miss.

At about 3 PM, I decided it was time to go up the Rock, but I obviously hadn’t done my homework. I found out that the nature reserve would close at 7.15 PM and there was an hour’s wait for the cable car (with a prepaid ticket!). I originally wanted to hike up but the intense summer heat had me in second thoughts, so I decided to buy a ticket to the cable car and hoped it would leave me with enough time to explore the Rock thoroughly.

Monkeys of the Rock

The ride up the rock was amazing with incredible views of the city and Andalusia’s mountains in the backdrop, but what I saw at the top was so much better.

The first thing I saw when I got off the cable car, was a monkey walking down a flight of stairs! I was so excited. I was the only one who had noticed him until another girl noticed I was taking pictures of something. She came over and let out a screech, obviously not expecting there to be a monkey on the staircase!

Throughout the rest of the day, I saw monkeys everywhere. Mothers nursing babies, babies playing, adult monkeys eating, adult monkeys trying to steal from the bags of tourists etc. A few times, I had to return water bottles and sunglasses to tourists that unknowingly had them stolen by a cheeky monkey. Luckily, they left me alone, but I also made sure to have nothing sticking out from my bag!

Exploring the Rock

Before taking the cable car up to the Rock, I bought an all-inclusive ticket to the nature reserve, which allowed me entrance to all the main sights. I walked the Glass Skywalk with breathtaking 360º views of Gibraltar, Spain and Morocco in the distance, and then tried to locate the path to the summit of the Rock. I searched everywhere for it, but I don’t think it actually exists. The only path that I could find went through O’Hara’s Battery which was fenced off. I tried to scramble my way up but it was impossible, so unfortunately, I didn’t get to the very top of Gibraltar.

Still, the countless monkey sightings made up for it in the best way possible.

St. Michael’s Cave

More than 150 caves have been found inside the Rock of Gibraltar, so it wasn’t an option to not visit at least one of them. I chose the most famous one, St. Michael’s Cave, which is a network of limestone caves at a height of over 300 meters above sea level. The name of the cave is thought to derive from a similar grotto in Apulia, Italy, where the archangel Michael is said to have appeared.

The cave was long believed to be bottomless, which gave birth to the story that the Rock of Gibraltar was linked to Africa by a subterranean passage under the Strait of Gibraltar. The monkeys of the Rock were thought to have entered Gibraltar through this passage. This passage has never been found and thus, I sadly don’t think the legend is true, despite how awesome that would be!

The cave is an impressive sight, although I really didn’t like the vibrant neon lights that made me feel like I was in some tacky nightclub.

Descending to the city center

When I had finished exploring the cave, it was almost time for the nature reserve to close. I decided to head back down the Rock, using my feet instead of the cable car. I walked past Ape’s Den to see if I could find anymore monkeys, but despite the name of the place, I only found three monkeys there. It didn’t take me long to walk down the well-paved path. I enjoyed the walk as the views were spectacular throughout and the sun wasn’t as hot as it had been earlier in the day.

Despite my bad planning, I did have time to see everything I had hoped to see on the Rock and in Gibraltar as a whole, although I felt more rushed than I wanted to. When I returned to the city center, the shops were about to close and that meant it was time for me to return to Spain and Algeciras.

Visiting Gibraltar was a unique and interesting experience. I got to go home for a day while travelling through Southern Europe, and I got to interact with hundreds of adorable monkeys.

I was lucky to be able to visit Gibraltar before Brexit as I really don’t know what the future holds for the place now. 96 % of the inhabitants of Gibraltar voted against Brexit, which is more than any other parts of Great Britain. It will be interesting to see what happens with Gibraltar and its relationship to Spain when Brexit becomes the reality.

How to visit Gibraltar independently on a budget

Stay overnight in Algeciras. Hostels there are much cheaper than in both Gibraltar and La Linea de la Conception (the Spanish border town). I paid 16 euros for a mediocre hostel in the city center of Algeciras.

Take the bus line M120 from Estación San Bernado to La Linea. It costs 2,45 euros one way and takes about 45 minutes. In the weekdays, busses run every half an hour from 7 AM to 10.30 PM from Algeciras and 6.45 AM to 11.15 PM from La Linea. In the weekends, they run every 45 minutes.

Walk to the border. The bus station in La Linea is close to the border, about 400 meters from it, so walk there and cross the border into Gibraltar! For an EU passport holder, the crossing was very smooth and took no time. But DO remember your passport! And keep yourself updated due to Brexit.

Once in Gibraltar, you can either walk to the city center (15 minutes from the border) or take bus no. 5 to the city center.

To get up the Rock of Gibraltar, the cheapest option is of course to walk, but if you want to take the cable car, the best option is to buy the combined ticket with the cable car and entrance to the nature reserve for 29 euros. See more here. Try to get there early as there is often a long queue and the nature reserve closes early at 7.15 PM.

Enjoy your visit and remember to keep all your belongings close and not to feed the monkeys.