A Visitor’s Guide to Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Our first glimpse of the Rock of Gibraltar was on our drive above the Spanish port city of Algeciras. The view of the distinctive rocky peninsula jutting into the water made us very excited to visit this famous site. Gibraltar has a lot to see, much more than we expected. It is very easy to explore the sites on your own without joining a tour, so we created a visitor’s guide to help you plan your visit to Gibraltar.

The British Commonwealth territory is on the edge of the Strait of Gibraltar and is located only 7.7 nautical miles (14.24 km /8.9 miles) from Morocco. This combination made Gibraltar coveted land for centuries. It looks like an island but is actually a peninsula. A narrow strip of flat land connects the massive limestone rock to Spain. Finally seeing it in person was a little overwhelming.

Have you heard the legend about how this famous rock was formed? Gibraltar is said to be one of the Pillars of Hercules. As part of his penance for killing his wife and child, Hercules had to complete Twelve Labours for King Eurystheus. When he was completing his tenth, Hercules needed to cross over Atlas Mountain. Instead of climbing up and over though, he smashed through the mountain and thus created the Strait of Gibraltar. This left two pillars on either side of the strait. The Rock of Gibraltar was created on the European side. There is an ongoing debate as to which peak was formed in Africa. Some believe the legend points to Mount Hacho in Ceuta, others say Jebel Moussa in Morocco. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).