The Rivers of Guadiaro and Hozgarganta Special Area of Conservation is located between Malaga and Cadiz. Its 410 hectares are divided up between the towns of Jimena, Castellar and San Roque in Cadiz and those of Gaucín and Casares in Malaga.

The Rivers Guadiaro and Hozgarganta belong to the Guadiaro sub-basin, which lies within the Andalusian Mediterranean basins. The Guadiaro constitutes one of the last great rivers in Andalusia that is not regulated by large dams, together with the Hozgarganta and Genal tributaries.

The River Guadiaro starts in Serranía de Ronda and flows through the Malaga and Cadiz provinces. Its upper section passes through the towns of Malaga in the Serranía de Ronda area and constitutes the border of the Sierra de Grazalema and Los Alcornocales natural parks. It then crosses the Cañón de las Buitreras Natural Monument (Outstanding River Area status), and enters Cadiz province via San Pablo de Buceite. After a journey of 82 kilometres, it arrives at the Mediterranean in Sotogrande, San Roque, forming the estuary of the River Guadiaro. Its main tributaries are the Hozgarganta, on the right, and El Genal on the left (both have Outstanding River Area status).

The source of the River Hozgarganta is in the Sierra del Aljibe; the confluence of La Sauceda and Pasada Blanca. After crossing Cortes de la Frontera in Malaga, it enters Cadiz as far as its mouth in the River Guadiaro. As it travels 40 kilometres through the Los Alcornocales Natural Park along, there is a transition from canuto-type formations, typical of the Sierra del Aljibe, to stretches of fertile plains that meander through alluvial plains, flat agricultural land.

The wildlife in the area is typical of the riverbank, with otters, Mediterranean turtles and Pseudochondrostoma willkommii fish as the main protagonists. All three are species of community interest. Invertebrates, such as crayfish, dragonflies and the Spanish funnel-web spider, endemic to the south of the Iberian Peninsula are also of note, as well as other fish species such as the sea lamprey, Cobitis paludica, Andalusian barbel, Squalius malacitanus, and eel. There are also amphibians such as the Spanish painted frog, and salamander subspecies that extend to the south of the Guadalquivir, and birds such as the white-throated dipper, kingfisher, and various species of birds of prey.