The beautiful natural phenomena that are the Rapa Rosie cliffs are easy to spot from a distance, but a little trickier to get close to. They are certainly worth the effort, however.
Situated just outside Sebes these red sandstone cliffs have been well described as a natural wonder. Rising up to 125m in height, and running for about 800m, they certainly are a sight to behold. Their appearance has been shaped over thousands of years into columns, ravines, towers and pyramids.
The road to the cliffs is signposted, but in a ‘blink and you’ve missed it’ kind of way. The best advice is to use What3words (a free app that assigns three random words to every 3m squares across the entire globe). Using this should help you to easily locate the turnings and the head of paths from the parking area to the rocks. The three What3words locators are as follows:
- Turning from main road – ///drones.fast.pots
- Turn right at – ///sharers.pollutant.cults
- Head to the footpath – ///bills.spruced.reimposed
A lot has been said about the state of the road up to the cliffs, but in all honesty, we didn’t find it too bad. You’ll need to drive slowly, and carefully, but we had no problem in a standard 5 door hatchback car. Admittedly, this was in the hot summer weather, so this may change in inclement weather and in different seasons.
Once you reach the parking field, you’ll be able to choose different paths to the cliffs. However, if you are less mobile or have less energy then you’ll still get dramatic views of the cliffs from the parking area.
Should you decide to walk to the rocks, then expect some steep descents and ascents, which should be walkable rather than needing any climbing. You have the option of going to the foot of the cliffs or walking further (and higher) to their summit. We chose the former, as we felt that gave us a better view of the rock formations. Care should be taken, however, as there are some steep drops in places.
The area is classed as a geological reserve but is unmanned, so there are no ticket-office, guides, or oversight. Some people (bad people) have taken advantage of this, and have left some rubbish behind. Please don’t be one of these people – in fact, be the reverse – please pick up some rubbish as you leave and dispose of it sensibly. That’s sound advice no matter where you are in the world.
