One stage of 7,560-km route which runs from Cádiz to Cyprus ends in Águilas and the next sets out for Puerto de Mazarrón The Region of Murcia has long been a preferred destination for cycling holidays, the varied terrain attracting tourists from all over Europe 12 months a year, and its inclusion on the “EuroVelo 8” route, which runs a massive 7,560 kilometres from Cádiz in the south-west of Spain to Athens and Cyprus, is likely to further..

An 11th century fortification in Águilas which was strategically important in the conflicts of the Middle Ages Image: Consejo de Agricultura Ecológica de la Región de Murcia - Caerm The ruined castle of Chuecos stands at an altitude of 687 metres above sea level on a hill in the Sierra de Almenara and was built to protect and make use of a historic natural spring which lies just below. To the north is the Casa de Chuecos and the small church..

A picturesque beachside village in the shadow of Cabo Cope Calabardina is a small town or village located to the east of Águilas, at the foot of the headland of Cabo de Cope on the south-facing coast of the Mediterranean. It lies within the municipality of Águilas and is administered from the town of Águilas, although is technically a pedanía of the municipality with its own local community Mayor. For many years this was nothing..

Residential and holiday home developments to the east of the town of Águilas It is known that the Romans made use of the shallow waters around Isla del Fraile and on the beach of Playa Amarailla to the east of the town of Águilas, where they produced the rich “garum” fish sauce using the catches of fishermen in Calabardina and Cope. But after their departure the area around Águilas was only sparsely populated until as late as the 19th century..

Small farming communities in the west of the municipality of Águilas For first-time visitors it is easy to imagine that Águilas in the south-west of the Region of Murcia is purely a coastal area, the south-westernmost in the Costa Cálida before the Costa de Almería begins, but in fact the 251-square-kilometre municipality includes large areas of farmland and mountains. Among these is the area known as El Cocón, including the hamlets of..

A short climb for panoramic views over the landscape of Águilas Just a ten-minute drive from the town of Águilas, in the heart of the crop fields which lie in the east of the municipality behind Cabo Cope, is the rural community of El Garrobillo, which consists mainly of farmland and is home to very few people. Much of the area known as Garrobillo actually lies in the municipality of Lorca, but the church and the unusual steps climbing up..

A pleasant trip out to the mountains behind Calabardina Cuesta de Gos is a tiny hamlet in the foothills of the mountains behind Águilas and Calabardina, and consists of no more than a scattering of around a dozen houses. The inhabitants of the village used to struggle to make their living from the few crops which could be grown in the arid countryside before irrigation was viable, but nowadays the houses belong mostly to a few families who..