There are many places where one has the feeling of being at the end of the world, but there are only some countries and regions, the Canaries among them, that can be said to have an authentic "finisterrae". One of the many attractions of the island of El Hierro is that it possesses a special claim to this perception as it is a portion of land that was seen by sailors as a "non plus ultra" (no further). These days the Orchilla lighthouse is a modest structure that welcomes sailors crossing the Atlantic at these latitudes. However, in the past, this strip of land marked the point where the world ended and began, a special end of the world that, until 500 years ago, was the frontier between the known and the unknown for the population of the western hemisphere. For many years the zero meridian passed through this point on El Hierro, an imaginary line that united Orchilla with the two poles, marking the starting point for geographical measurements.

Although the European powers decided to move this imaginary line to Greenwich in the UK, Orchilla still maintains its aura of being the end of the earth. This feeling can be experienced by looking at the clear horizon which shows only the vastness of the open Atlantic, continuing until it reaches American lands many thousand of miles to the west. The Orchilla lighthouse is a simple construction, just over 26 metres high, that marks the most westerly point of Spanish territory. The tower, with an octagonal base, was built in 1933 in black Arucas stone which was brought on a sailing boat from the island of Gran Canaria. It is a very modest construction and its appearance is reminiscent of many other lighthouses built on the Spanish coasts in the first half of the 20th century. Next to the main structure, there is a 21-metre tower crowned with a five-metre lantern that stands 132 metres above sea level. The buildings are completed by a simple single-floor house that was built to provide shelter for the lighthouse keepers and their families.

Until recently the lighthouse keeper who lived in the building with his family was responsible for maintaining the lantern to ensure it was in perfect working order. Technology has now put pay to this century-old profession and these days a photo-voltaic cell is responsible for lighting up the lighthouse 15 minutes after sunset and extinguishing it a quarter of an hour after dawn. It is thanks to this bright lantern, which reaches a distance of 35 nautical miles, that ships following the route to the Americas via Canarian waters are aware of the hospitality of the island port awaiting them, or the loneliness of the sea that, up until 500 years ago, was the beginning of the end of the world.

In the 2nd century BC, the geographer Ptolomeo marked the west coast of the island of El Hierro as the end of the world. This decision influenced the subsequent history of the island. The 14th century saw an increase in sailing activities and the Egyptian geographer's marking made El Hierro into the start and finish of the globe with the zero meridian running through its extreme western point. This honour survived until the end of the 19th century. In 1884, at an international conference held in Washington, it was decided that the zero meridian should be moved to the London borough of Greenwich.