The coastal town of Carboneras is surrounded by unspoilt hills and has wonderful natural coastlines going both East and west including the "La Playa de Los Muertos" which is a natural beauty in itself. It is a modern town with some big industry providing employment such as the cement plant, power station and the biggest desalination plant in Europe. The municipal area also covers the towns: El Llano de Don Antonio, El Argamasón, Los Vicentes, La Cañada de Don Rodrigo, La Islica, El Cumbrero, Cortijo del viento, La Cueva del Pájaro, El Cañarico, El Saltador Alto, El Saltador Bajo y Gafares.

The town has a magnificent castle, El Castillo de San Andrés where there is a museum and many events are held there. The castle was to defend the coast during the Moorish uprising in the Alpujaras in the 16 century. There are some wonderful buildings built in the 19 century for the nobility. Casa de los Fuentes is now the Council building.

The town boasts of 14'5 kilometres of beaches El Ancón, Los Barquicos and Los Cocones, from where you can see the island of San Andrés just off the shore. At the foot of the Cabrera mountains you have the beach Algarrobico, which was used in the film "Lawrence de Arabia" (David Lean, 1962). Moving in the dirrection of the Cabo de Gata Natural park you have beach, La playa de los Muertos, set in landscape of prehistoric volcanic action and which is used by naturists, then you have the lighthouse and the table topped mountain, Mesa Roldan where there is an 18 century watchtower before arriving at the little village of Agua Amarga in very picturesque bay.

The main fiestas are the fiestas of San Antonio de Padua, celerbrated on and round the 13th of June. There is also the celerbration of the Moors and Christians with battle encactments held on the Beach anda round the Castle. On the 23rd of June, you have the Night of San Juan (John the Baptist) when bonfires are lit on the beach, with barbeques and mid night bathing. Deeper into the summer, in the middle of August you have the Fiesta del Pescador with a procession down the beach and a large sardine.

Each of the small towns of Carboneras has its own fiesta often with tournaments and traditional tape races that take place on horseback, or on bicycles for children. The first ones are La Cueva del Pajaro in honor of San Jose, around the 19th of March, Las Cruces de Mayo (crosses of May) in Gafares, El Saltador in July, la Virgen de la Cabeza in Septemember in El Argamason and ending with the fiestas of San Francisco, on the 4th of October in El Llano de Don Antonio.