Details

San Pedro del Pinatar is situated at the northern end of the Mar Menor in the province of Murcia.  Directly in front of the small town, La Manga, a thin slice of land, which divides the Mar Menor from the Mediterranean, stretches southwards towards Cabo de Palos.

O­nce a sleepy little village, now San Pedro del Pinatar has more bars, restaurants, hotels, discotheques and boutiques than many places o­n the Mar Menor and is o­ne of the main destinations of the Costa Cálida.

Spaniards have visited this small town for many years, to cover themselves in the healing mud, which can be found o­n a certain beach o­n the inland side of La Manga.  It is a very strange sight to see.  People wallow in the shallow water and others lie in the sun, allowing the black mud to dry o­n them.  After a few hours of this healthy pursuit, the visitors flock to the local restaurants to enjoy the wonderful seafood delicacies, some of which are indigenous to the Mar Menor.

El Mojón lies near the town and is situated o­n the Mediterranean side of La Manga, the short drive takes you across the marshland where, amongst the many species of birds that migrate here from Africa, the beautiful flamingo can be seen.  If you are lucky, you will see them take off and fly round in a
huge pink cloud before landing again in a flurry of wings.  In 1985 this area of 1.800 acres of land with its salt marshes, dunes, reed beds and salt works was named as a RegionalNaturalReservePark.

Carthaginians, Romans, Moors, fishermen, kings, pirates and politicians like Don Emilio Castelar, the president of the first SpanishRepublic have all helped to fill the pages of the history book of San Pedro del Pinatar.

Centuries ago this area was a huge pine forest, where wild boar were hunted in the winter months and the village was called el Pinatar.  It wasn’t until the beginning of the 17th century, after a small temple was built and dedicated by the fishermen to Saint Pedro, the apostle and fisherman that the village was renamed.

Up until the 18th century the o­nly inhabitants were the families dedicated to fishing and the exploitation of the nearby salt flats. Gradually over the next hundred years, people from inland areas came here to try out the curative properties of the Mar Menor.  In 1836 it became a municipality independent from Murcia and nowadays has three main focal points of population: San Pedro del Pinatar, Lo Pagán and el Mojón.

The fiesta for the Patron Saint of San Pedro del Pinatar is held o­n 29^th June and the fiesta in honour of the Virgin del Carmen is celebrated with gusto by the fishermen and their families o­n 16^th July.