Mount San Antón, it's universally known as “El Ratón” (The Mouse), because een from the west (especially from Zarautz), the hill draws the perfect outline of a rodent.
The Getaria Lighthouse (Mount San Antón Lighthouse)
Right on the “head” of the mouse stands the Getaria Lighthouse, one of the prettiest and most photographed along the entire Basque coast.
It was built in 1861 (though records show a warning light existed here as early as the 16th century for whalers),with a small neoclassical cylindrical stone tower.
Its tower heights 9 metres (30 ft) standing at 123 metres (404 ft) above sea level.
Fun fact
It’s one of the few lighthouses on the Cantábrico that still has its original hand-cut crystal lens.
The stone sentry boxes: centuries-old coastal guardians
These 18th–19th-century stone sentry boxes were used to watch for pirates and enemy fleets (mainly British and French) and to spot whales since, between the 13th and 17th centuries Getaria was one of Europe’s most important whaling ports.
When lookouts saw a whale, they lit a bonfire on the summit and blew horns to alert the boats.
From the top you'll have a 360° jaw-dropping view of the Basque coast and on clear days you can even spot Hondarribia and the French coast.
Sunsets are pure magic.
Little-known fun facts
Mount San Antón is listed as a Cultural Heritage Site.
Juan Sebastián Elcano, the first man to circumnavigate the globe, was born in Getaria at the foot of the Mouse. His statue in the village gazes straight toward the hill.
On full-moon nights the lighthouse and sentry boxes create an almost mystical scene.
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