Situated along the scenic Route of Olive Oil and Mountains, and at 131 metres above sea level, 45 kilometres from Malaga and 19 kilometres from the coast, this lovely village of 1,700 grew during the 18th century around La Venta la Vina, a building where weary travelers en route between the coast and Granada would stop for water and food, and still to this day serve as a centre for the old men of the village to gather and play a game of dominoes and others escaping the midday heat. The village parish church of San Jose dates back to the 16th century, and you will find archaeological sites dating back to prehistoric, Roman and Medieval times in the area as well.

Two tributaries of the River Velez run through the municipality of Vinuela, and a dam has been built across the Guaro creating a reservoir, known as Lake Vinuela, which can hold 170 million cubic metres of water. This reservoir fills a natural valley and is surrounded by beaches, trees and other vegetation adding an additional feature to this already beautiful landscape, where the major crops are olives, vines and cereals and where many foreigners have chosen to settle down.