Mijas, known as the White Village, is situated at the foothills of the Cordón Montañoso del Litoral (Coastal Mountain Range), one of the most typical examples of the pretty mountain town in Andalucía, with views over much of the Costa del Sol. The municipal area covers almost 140 square kilometres, from the mountains down to the sea, surrounding the municipality of Fuengirola.

The urban areas of Mijas are Mijas Pueblo, Las Lagunas and La Cala de Mijas. In the first we find the old part of the town with its Town Hall, its historic buildings and its whitewashed houses. Las Lagunas is where most of the services and housing developments are situated, as in La Cala de Mijas with the new development, Las Terrazas de cala mijas . The Fuengirola River flows through the centre of the municipality, where there are large agricultural areas being gradually taken over by golf courses and luxury housing estates. Mijas pueblo is a typical Andaluz in its character and style, perched high above Fuengirola and Mijas Costa like so many sugar cubes with spectacular views of the coast and surrounding heavily wooded mountains.