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Costa del Sol/CartamaCartama is situated at the foot of two small sierras which together form the Sierra de Cartama in the Guadalhorce Valley which takes it´s name from the picturesque Guadalhorce River.
The Guadalhorce valley is renowned for its location, being close to the Costa del Sol, the airport at Málaga, the Natural Parks of Sierra de las Nieves and the Málaga mountains, as well as the gorge and lakes at El Chorro in the area between Álora and Ardales. The Phoenicians gave the town its name, Cartha - meaning hidden city. Later the Romans called it Cartima, converting it into a municipality in the year 195 B.C. and endowing it with powerful defences. During the Roman period it was one of the main towns Cartama 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: Cartama Pueblo and Cartama Estación. One of the main attractions of Cartama is it´s Castle with four towers defining its shape, three of them square and one facing south in a semicircular form. The most predominant feature inside is the rectangular shaped water tank excavated out of the rock and covered by a vaulted ceiling, built to store rain-water. Another popular site is the Hermitage of Nuestra Senora de los Cartama is also home to many Roman remains, in particular roads and bridges which used to link Cartama with Alhaurin el Grande. Today Cartama is acknowleged to be an excellent golfing area and the abundance of facilities and warm climate makes Cartama absolutely ideal for sport lovers. For children there are aqua-parks, zoos, theme parks and nature centres. There is also Go-karting, jeep safaris, ballooning and mountain biking. If you are after cultural entertainment you´ll be spoilt for choice in Cartama which is said to have some of the finest Flamenco in the whole of Andalucia. In fact the history of Flamenco began in the 15th Century in this area.
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in the present province of Málaga with the Cartima baths becoming famous for their curative properties.
Remedios which dates from the 16th Century, coinciding with an apparition of the Virgin on that spot and the news of a plague in Cártama at the same time that the Virgin was being brought out in procession. In a short time the sick were miraculously cured, and as a result the Virgin was named La Virgen de Los Remedios.