La Unión beaches: Playa de Portmán

A wide curving bay popular with fishermen

The municipality of La Unión has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are  on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán.

Although both are attractive in their own right and are very popular with visitors, they are set to change tremendously in the coming years as the area is regenerated.

La Unión is a mining municipality, part of the Sierra Minera which was extensively mined during the Roman occupation of this area and remained an active mining area until the last few decades of the twentieth century.

Although the area is littered with remains of its mining past, much of the visible mining legacy seen today dates from the latter part of last century when open cast mining techniques left extensive scars in the countryside, one of the victims being Portmán bay, which was filled with mining waste, created by the mineral washing processes of the open cast system.

Click to read the full history of the mineral dumping in Portmán Bay

During the last few years a major campaign has been underway to regenerate the bay and in 2017  work began as the process to remove the accumulated mineral waste and regenerate the bay got under way. Once it is completed a new sporting port and marina may be built, replacing the existing facilities.

The waste in the bay is not toxic, and the area continues to attract visitors to both beaches, Portmán being particularly popular with fishermen. In the corner of Playa Lastre is an attractive little sailing port which is very popular with visitors due to the busy bar and restaurant facilities here and visitors also use this as a stop-off point for walking in the regional parkland behind the beaches, where the remnants of military batteries can still be visited. (Click La Chapa batteries and Cenizas and Negrete batteries).

Playa de Portmán

Portmán beach is a vast curving beach, 950 metres long and an average of 110 metres wide, with fine golden sand.

In the future this bay will change radically, as the deposits of mineral waste which fill the bay behind the existing shoreline are being removed and the shoreline moved back closer to its original position, which was metres away next to the built-up area of Portmán. At the moment, though, it is a perfectly serviceable beach and is busy in the summer months.

This bay is very popular with rod fishermen, the rocks suitable for fishing throughout the day and the beach the scene of veritable fishing frenzies on the odd occasion when the nearby fish farms are sabotaged or suffer a torn net, and thousands of plump fish swarm out into the bay!

There is parking close to the shore and a bus stop next to the beach.

There are no services to speak of, although there is sometimes a beach bar in summer, but shops and bars are within easy walking distance in the village of Portmán.

Click for more information about Portmán, or for more information about the municipality of La Unión.