Cuevas del Almanzora: 

An inland town that has numerous shops, bars, cafes and restaurants.  There is also a large leisure centre with an outdoor swimming pool.  The town has a large 16th century castle at it's centre, called the Castillo de Marques de los Velez, this monument was a stronghold for Lords and Ladies, then it was a prison and now it houses the most important contemporary art collections in Andalucia.

There is a cave Museum located at the end of the Calvario.

The Church of Sebastian, is a small building, but is very attractive.  It has many Arabic features and has many baroque

decorations throughout.

The town also has Motorcycling scrambling circuit on the opposite side of the rambla and hosts many attractions.

The street market is located around the Castle.

Fiestas and Ferias:

May 15th - Cuevas del Almanzora Carnival.

Palomares:

Palomares is located 850m from the beach and is bordered by Villaricos and Vera Playa.  The town was made famous on 17^th January 1966, when an American B52 Bomber collided with a refueling tanker and subsequently dropped 4 H-bombs, 3 of which landed around the village of Palomares and the fourth landed in the sea.  This fourth bomb was discovered in the nets of the local fishermen some 80 days after the incident.  The USAF removed all the contaminated soil and compensated the people and government for the pollution.

Today the village relies heavily on its agricultural background to survive, although there has been a lot of building in the area and influx of foreign nationals, which in turn brings prosperity.  The town has all the amenities you would expect, including bars, restaurants, pharmacy, a supermarket, hairdresser etc.  Palomares does have a nice beach area and the fishing here is excellent.

Villaricos: 

Villaricos is an unspoilt fishing village located at the foot of the Sierra Almagrera.  Villaricos means `rich village´, this is derived from the silver mines which are dotted around in the mountains behind the village.  These mines have a rich and deep history supplying the funding of the mercenaries that besieged Rome for Hannabal.  Today these silver mines are exhausted and no longer in use, although you can still see the many transportation routes, mine entrances and associated building dotted along the coastline and through the surrounding mountains.

The village now relies on its fishing and tourist trade to bolster it’s economy.  The village has two harbours, one each end of the village, these are linked by a promenade of which you can see the locals meandering along in the evenings.  The village has plenty of bars and restaurants, also a selection of shops and minimarkets.  All in all the town is lovely place to visit.

Beaches:

The beaches here are quite stony and rocky.  The best thing about the area is the village has two little marinas, plenty of little restaurants and bars.  Makes for quite a nice day out.