Cártama is one of the most historically important municipalities in the Guadalhorce region, and one of the biggest, with its population spread over an area of 105 square kilometres in two twin towns: Cártama Pueblo and Cártama Estación. There are, besides, nine other smaller urban areas. Its archaeolgical sites are among the best in the province, with fragments of ceramics, metals, walls, Roman coins and columns having been discovered. And watching over the different settlements through the centuries is the ancient castle fortress of Cártama. When the Phoenicians arrived at what is now the town, they found a small fortress inhabited by the Iberians, situated on top of the Cerro de la Virgen hill. Both peoples lived side by side for some time, establishing a factory in the La Vega and La Sierra area for the production of agricultural products of the region. For their mutual protection, they reconstructed the fortress and called the place Carth-Ma, meaning "Hidden town and mother". This was seized by the Roman consul Marco Poncio Catón in the year 195 B.C., who, once installed in the town, rebuilt the castle and fortified it, extending the building towards the mountainside. The Visigoths carried out later reconstruction work on it, but it was during the Moorish occupation that it achieved most importance. The shifting Moorish military and political situation was witness to crucial economic and social change in the area, and in the Nazari period the castle became of vital importance for the social and political life of the entire region. The aspect it would have had at this time would have been very like the castle in Álora, with little decoration but strongly built to withstand attack. But the Christians did indeed attack successfully in 1485. The defenders held out for quite some time, and the Christians were unable to break through the thick walls. But they were forced to surrender in that same year and the Moorish period in Cártama thus came to an end. King Fernando and his officers, conscious of the military importance of the building for the conquest of Ronda and Malaga, moved in and began further reconstruction work. A meeting of the Council of Nobles was held in the building, and from there the conquest of Malaga was planned. After the fall of Granada the castle lay more or less unused until the War of Independence, when it was the scene of an attack against the French troops that had taken refuge there following the General Ballesteros siege. The present building carries the scars of so much military action over the centuries.

The parish church in Cartajima

GASTRONOMY 
There is a long and rich tradition of local cuisine in Cártama, not only due to the typical products of the soil but also to the town’s proximity to the coast. The best-known local dish is the so-called sopa cachorreña, followed by the asparagus soup. These soups are generally eaten with prickly pears, olives, onions, radishes, grapes or oranges. The local pork products have a very high reputation too, especially the Morcilla cartameña, a type of black pudding. The Moorish influence has left us with the sweet torta cartameña, the Cártama tart, whose basic ingredients are olive oil and almonds, and of course, the oranges of the region.

NATURAL SURROUNDINGS
Flowing the length of the municipality of Cártama, the river Guadalhorce creates a valley surrounded by mountain ranges that makes the area one of the most beautiful and lush in the province. The very presence of the river, with its eucalyptus trees growing high on the banks, makes this an excellent place to walk or hike in, or to take a mountain bike and cycle in. There is the only crocodile park in Europe right here too, sheltering some 200 different species from all over the world and covering an area of 45 square kilometres.