Campo de Gibraltar is the name given to the area in the south east of Cadiz province that straddles the transition of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea. It is also the inland and mainly rural area that surrounds the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.
Rota, an ancient town, stands at the extreme north of the Bay of Cádiz in a privileged position. The town opens out to the Atlantic and behind are two national parks, the Natural Park of the Bay of Cádiz and the Doñana. It is also a town of two extreme contrasts.
Baelo Claudia, near Tarifa, is one of Andalucia´s most significant and well-preserved Roman archeological sites. The extensive ruins are situated on the Costa de la Luz, some 15km north of Tarifa, by the small town of Bolonia and its beautiful beach. The site´s important history rests on the former city having been a strategic point for trade routes between Europe and North Africa.
This pretty white town in the Sierra de Cadiz dates from Muslim times; it closely resembles Berber towns in the hills of north Africa. Torre Alhamique's name comes from the Arabic Al Hakin family, meaning "the wise" or "the learned". This family owned the tower-fortress, located 4km from Olvera, which became the basis for the town.
Zahara de los Atunes is one of the most charming, and fashionable, towns on the Cadiz Costa de la Luz. With a stunning beach, boasting crystal-clear waters and golden sand, Zahara's main advantage over some other beach resorts in the area, which consist largely of hotels (albeit low-rise) and restaurants lining a beachfront road, is its villagey feel.
Bolonia is a small isolated ex fishing and farming village on the Atlantic Costa de la Luz 20km north from the surfer paradise of Tarifa and 20km south of Zahara de los Atunes. It is also the site of one of the three most important Roman archaeological excavations in Andalucía, along with Italica outside Sevilla and Acinipo outside Ronda.
Algeciras is primarily and unashamedly a port and industrial centre, sprawling round the bay to Gibraltar. When Franco closed the border with "the Rock" at the nearby La Linea, it was Algeciras that he decided to develop to absorb the Spanish workers who used to be employed in the British naval dockyards and in order to break the area's dependence on Gibraltar.
The original Sancti Petri was a small tuna-fishing village located on a spit of land on the Atlantic coast near San Fernando, where the Cadiz peninsula meets the mainland. On the southern side, it is surrounded by marshes and sand bars, and beyond those, the town of Chiclana de la Frontera.
Apart from its protected nature reserves, Cadiz has a vast inland area in the east of the province that is made up of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park and the Alcornocales Natural Park. A Unesco biosphere reserve, the dramatically rugged limestone massif of the Sierra de Grazalema is one of Andalucia´s most visited natural parks and popular with those interested in hiking, mountaineering, potholing and rock climbing.
Ubrique is a picturesque pueblo blanco (white town) in the Serrania de Ronda Mountains of Cadiz province. Spectacularly situated in front of the crag of the Cruz de Tajo, the town follows the valley of the Rio Ubrique. This beautiful and tranquil town has a long, interesting history which stretches back over many epochs and empires.
Just inland from the coast Chiclana sits on a small hill overlooking the marismas (salt marshes). The town dates from 1303, when King Fernando IV of Castille gave the land to Guzman El Bueno, the defender of Tarifa, who was succeeded by the Duques de Medina Sidonia.
Sitting on the coast in the far west of the province of Cádiz, the pretty town of Chipiona lies at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river, only 52km from the city of Cádiz itself, Chipiona dates back to Roman times and currently has around 17,000 inhabitants.
Appropriately christened the Costa de la Luz (Coast of the Light), the Atlantic shoreline of Cadiz province have many wild and windswept beaches, with its strong winds making Tarifa the foremost windsurf and kitesurfing site in Europe.
The town of San Fernando, often referred to as La Isla del Sur (the Island of the South), is not actually an island but a small peninsula, set within the stunning setting of the Bay of Cadiz. Covering an area of some 30 km2, it is connected to Cadiz City by an eight kilometre strip of land and for centuries was connected on the rest of the mainland only by the Zuazo bridge. It is an important Andalucian town, with a population of close to 100,000.
Atlanterra, in Cadiz province, is an exclusive urbanisation situated 30km north of Tarifa (and within the municipal boundry) but access is by the only road leading south from the small fishing village of Zahara de los Atunes, which is 10km south of Barbate separated by military land and the salt marshes.
El Bosque is is 32 kilometers east of Arcos de la Frontera and 18 kilometers west of Grazalema. It is 287 meters about sea level and in easy reach of the Parque Natural de la Sierra de Grazalema, in fact El Bosque is considered to be the gateway to this immense nature reserve, covering 53,500 hectares (207 square miles).
La Alcaidesa is a large urbanization at the western end of the Costa del Sol, in the municipality of La Linea and San Roque, located in the Campo de Gibraltar (Cadiz province). The Rock itself is close by.
This very small village, known locally as San Enrique de Guadiaro, is part of the municipality of San Roque in the Campo de Gibraltar. Its economy is based around horticulture - citrus fruit trees, mainly orange and lemon, that grow in the flood plain of the Guadiaro River. The village sits on the northern side of this river and has about 1,000 inhabitants.
Vejer de la Frontera is located off the N-340 Costal road between the cities of Cádiz and Algeciras. It is at the south of the A-48 autovia south from Cadiz. Take the exit at kilometre 36 and follow the signs to the hill top town up the A-2229.
One of the most unexpected thrills of Vejer for a first time visitor is the huge number of eateries hidden away in the beautiful Pueblo Blanco. Then a further surprise is that it is almost impossible to eat badly in this gastronomic paradise. Vejer doesn't rely just on summer tourists - there are the regular visitors. If the food isn't good, the restaurant will close.
