Agua Amarga is a small, unspoilt, fishing village of just 200 permanent inhabitants, located in the province of Almería in Andalusia, in the south eastern corner of Spain.

With its traditional white buildings and 800 metres of beach, the village is to be found between two cliffs that hide it from view from all but the most determined or fortunate visitor. Overlooked on one side by the Faro (lighthouse) de la Mesa de Roldán, Agua Amarga is as picturesque a setting as you’ll find in Spain for a relaxing and memorable holiday.

(left) The indalo sign, which you will see everywhere you go in the province of Almería. It is a neolithic figure representing a man holding a rainbow. First found in the cave of Los Letreros in Valez Blanco, Andalusia, suggesting it is of prehistoric origin. The villagers of the Agua Amarga regard it as a totem to drive away storms, a spirit with sufficient power to dominate the elements, and you will often see it painted to the front of houses. The indalo has also been adopted as the symbol of the city of Almería.

Encompassing part of the 38,000 hectare Cabo de Gata Nature Reserve, the region is unique within Andalusia and even within Europe. The landscape is more closely reminiscent of Arizona than of any other part of the continent, let alone the Iberian peninsula. Such is its dry, desert-like landscape that numerous westerns have been filmed in the area, as well as parts of Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago and, more recently, the British film Sexy Beast, with Ben Kingsley.

Renowned for its unspoilt and uncrowded beaches, the Nature Reserve has become one of Spain’s most prized possessions.

The Almería province is the sunniest in Spain, and one of the warmest. The sun shines for 320 days a year, the annual average temperature is 19ºC (66ºF) and just 100mm (3.9 inches) of rain falls per year, making this the driest region in Europe.

Almería has the honour of being one of the most under-developed and sparsely populated areas of the south and south east of Spain. This makes for an atmosphere of finding yourself in a region yet to be discovered by the masses – an unspoilt oasis. This despite the fact that the province experienced an economic boom in the second half of the 20th century, thanks largely – but not entirely - to tourism.

The seemingly endless sun – and, more to the point, the lack of rainfall - in this area has created a multi-million Euro industry in gardening. Enormous gardens stretch for mile upon mile, protected from the sun’s heat underneath a greenhouse created of plastic sheets.

Agua Amarga may be relatively remote however it has excellent links to the road infrastructure of this part of Spain, and is within easy reach of the closest city, Almería itself. It is Agua Amarga’s remoteness that has ensured that it has kept its traditional charm, where other coastal locations have given theirs up in the quest for the holy grail of tourism.

History is all around you in Andalusia, the city of Almería dating all the way back to the year 955, when the city was founded by Abd-ar-Rahman III of Cordoba. The name derives from the Arabic for ‘watchtower’, or al-Meraya; Granada, a three-hour drive from Agua Amarga (and well worth the visit), may be home to the better-known Alhambra, but Almería’s fortress, Alcazaba, is the second largest in all of Andalusia.

The centuries that followed saw great upheaval in Almería in the form of sieges, crusades and occupations of the city, and it finally fell into the hands of the Christians in the late 15th century. In this same period, however, the port of Almería prospered as did the silk industry, supported by the success of mulberry trees in the arid countryside of this part of Spain.

The province of Almería really is a idyllic corner of Europe, with the perfect climate and a mix of history and natural beauty that is truly unforgettable.