As well as its spectacular landscapes, the whole area exhibits a rich cultural heritage, with important prehistoric cave paintings, dolmens and the necropolis of Los Algarbes, which boasts an impressive collection of tombs excavated in the rock, dating back to the Copper and Bronze Ages.
Tarifa, a designated Conservation Area, has a long past that has left us a varied legacy. On high ground next to the sea, it had settlements in the Bronze Age, Phoenician and Roman times, ultimately leading to the construction now known as the castle of Guzmán el Bueno. This castle was built by order of Caliph Abd al – Rahman III in 960 d. C., according to the marble inscription still in its original position. It was shortly after the Christian conquest by King Sancho IV El Bravo, in 1292, when the event which gave name to the castle and fame to Tarifa occurred: the heroic act of Guzmán El Bueno, entrusted by the king to hold the castle, who preferred to sacrifice his son rather than surrender the castle to the Muslims.