The Lagunas de Campillos are five seasonal saltwater lakes with a protected area covering 1,126ha. Only one lake, the Laguna Salada, hardly ever dries out. Some lakes used to be permanent but have suffered from the agricultural activites in the surrounding areas that has put pressure on the water levels of the lakes. But they still provide an important resource for birds based in the area, like those at the nearby Laguna de Fuente de Piedra and the Laguna de la Ratosa.

This peaceful little town of less than 8000 inhabitants, equidistant between the Costa del Sol, Granada and Sevilla, has been an important cattle farming, leather production and mining centre since Roman times. Archaeological digs in the vicinity have uncovered Roman architecture and coins, as well as brass busts of Octavius, Claudius, Constantine and Trajan. Nowadays, however, it is mainly known as one of the key stops on the Algeciras-Bobadilla 'Mr Hendersons railway' line.