Nine towns in Cuenca that you cannot miss

Describe nine towns in Cuenca that you cannot miss It means talking about numerous monuments, but also about a long history and privileged natural environments.

Because the Cuenca province offers you much more than its precious capital. One of its distinctive elements is the large number of spectacular lagoons that has. Between them, those of Manjavacas, Taray or Cañada del Hoyo. But it also has mountainous foothills like its own. Cuenca mountain range, where you will see landscapes as spectacular as the so-called Ventano del Diablo. But we are deviating from our objective, which is to show you nine towns in Cuenca that you cannot miss. We go with them.

Raven Speck

We begin our route through this beautiful town, known as «the Balcony of La Mancha» for being in this region. Precisely, the aforementioned Manjavacas lagoon is located in its municipal area. But you should also see its windmills. The oldest of them, with at least three centuries, is the Lefty's Mill and in another, called El Gigante, you will find the tourist office.

As for the religious heritage of the town, you should visit the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel. It was built between the 14th and 17th centuries and stands out for its plateresque façade and chapels such as those of Baptism, Santísimo and Soledad. We also recommend that you see the hermitages of Manjavacas and del Valle.

Furthermore, Mota del Cuervo stands out for its numerous squares. La Mayor is delimited by an architectural complex from the 18th century made up of the Town Hall and Court House. You should also approach that of the Tercia, so called because it is home to the Tercia Real, which is the oldest building in the town, dating back to the 16th century. And, also visit that of Cervantes, which stands out for its ancestral houses.

On the other hand, it is important that you discover the deep-rooted customs of Mota del Cuervo. Among them stand out the festivities of Our Lady of Antigua de Manjavacas, declared of National Tourist Interest. But also the pottery tradition of the town, which is shown in a museum.

Uclés, pre-Roman origins among the nine towns of Cuenca that you cannot miss

According to some historians, this small town owes its foundation to the olcades, a Celtiberian town that established one of its main cities there. Therefore, its history dates back to pre-Roman times, although it experienced its greatest splendor during Arab domination.

From this time comes his spectacular castle or fortress, dating back to the 10th century. A monastery was built on it in the 16th century. Likewise, three towers and the walls of the primitive castle still remain. They are those of Pontido, Palomar and Albarrana and they have been restored a few years ago.

But, returning to Uclés monastery, this is the main architectural attraction of the town. As we told you, it was built between the 16th and 18th centuries by the Order of Santiago and is National Monument. Due to the time it took to build, it combines Plateresque, Herrerian and Baroque styles, with a final Churrigueresque touch.

Precisely, for the second of them, it is called «El Escorial de la Mancha» and it is the object of a pilgrimage that starts from the church of Santiago in Madrid and is called Way of Uclés.

The Provencio

You will find this other of the nine towns in Cuenca that you cannot miss as it borders the province of Albacete and very close to that of Ciudad Real. In your municipality you have natural spaces as beautiful as the Mount Jareño and the banks of the Zancara River, passage area for migratory birds.

As for its monuments, you must visit the majestic church of Our Lady of the Assumption, which was inaugurated at the end of the 16th century. It combines the Gothic style with Arabic and Renaissance influences. Even older is the King's Bridge, since it dates back to the 11th century and is one of the oldest among the medieval ones in the province. On the other hand the Camino Real Bridge and Tank They are from the XNUMXth century.

The hermitages of San Isidro and San Antón complete the monumental heritage of El Provencio. But, in addition, you must pay attention to the houses with typical La Mancha architecture that line its streets. And also in the urban art route, which includes several murals arranged throughout the town. Finally, you cannot miss the Nuestra Señora del Rosario inn.

Full

This town also has Cuenca mountain range with a castle, that of Rochafría, which dominates it from a hill. It dates back to the 13th century, although it was renovated in the 19th century. However, its state of conservation is not good. The best is found parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption, which is Gothic from the 15th century. On the other hand the temple of San Ginés, which is located in the district of El Tobar, was built at the end of the 16th century. In fact, it houses the image of its patron saint, the Our Lady of Help. But El Tobar offers you more surprises. In it are found the Ethnographic Museum and Laguna Grande.

Nature is precisely one of the great attractions of Beteta. It is integrated into the Alto Tajo Natural Park, an area of ​​more than one hundred thousand hectares that stands out for its canyons and river gorges. Among the latter is Beteta's, which runs along the bed of the Guadiela River. In this you can see the Fountain of the Linden Trees and Whore's Cave and start the route of Botanical Walk.

Finally, you must approach the Plaza Mayor, a beautiful example of typical mountain architecture, with its wooden arcades and balconies.

Tarancon

It is one of the largest towns among the nine towns in Cuenca that you cannot miss, as it has more than fifteen thousand inhabitants. In fact, it is the second most populated in the province after the capital.

In its religious heritage, the church of Our Lady of the Assumption, built in the 16th century. It is an Asset of Cultural Interest and you should look at its magnificent Plateresque altarpiece. But you also have to visit the convent of San Francisco, built in the 17th century and, already on the outskirts, the sanctuary of the Virgin of Riánsares, founded in the 12th century, as well as the hermitages of San Juan and San Isidro Labrador.

Regarding the civil monuments of Tarancón, you have to see stately homes such as the palace of the dukes of Riánsares, current headquarters of the City Council. But older, dating back to the 16th century, is the Parada house, today converted into an art museum that exhibits the works of the Tarancon painter Emilio Lozano. Finally the Malena Arch It is a vestige of the medieval wall.

Buendía, a county town among the nine towns in Cuenca that you cannot miss

We now arrive at Buendía, which has been a county town since the Infante Don Alfonso granted the county of the same name to Don Pedro Vázquez de Acuña in 1465. Therefore, as you can imagine, this town had great strength at the end of the Middle Ages.

However, most of its monumental heritage has been lost. This is the case of a good part of its old walls, which once had five gates, and its fortress. On the other hand, today its point of greatest interest is the Plaza Mayor, where are the Town Hall and Church of the Assumption of Our Lady. This is an impressive temple built in the 15th and 16th centuries that combines Gothic and Herrerian styles. The building of the Tercia, Whereas the Car Museum and Old Apothecary They are two ethnographic exhibitions.

But the most striking thing about Buendía is the call Route of the Faces, made up of several giant sculptures of faces that are carved into the rocks. It is a good place for hiking, as is the area of ​​the Guadiela Canyon, which also takes you to the Hermitage of the Forsaken.

Arcas del Villar

It belongs to the region of the Middle Mountains and it is only ten kilometers from the capital. In its ecosystem, places such as the Mount Talayuelo and, above all, the lagoon complex which has been declared a Natural Reserve.

As for its monuments, the most relevant is the Church of Our Lady of the Nativity. It was built in the 13th century following the canons of the Romanesque, although transitional to Gothic. It has a single nave with a semicircular apse. But, above all, you will be struck by its exempt cattail, although it is joined to the whole by an arch. Also notable is the doorway with five archivolts and, inside, the coffered ceiling.

Moya

In this case, it belongs to the region of the Low Mountain Range and is located about one hundred kilometers from the capital. The main population center of the municipality is Santo Domingo de Moya. But its great value in terms of heritage is found in the ancient medieval city, whose ruins you can visit and which hold the recognition of Historic Artistic Monument. Its great symbol is the Bobadilla castle. You will find them next to the current town, which stands out for its Plaza Mayor.

In the Moya complex you can see the Town Hall, which is the old warehouse or grain warehouse. But there are also several religious monuments such as churches of Saint Mary and Trinity or Convent of the Concepcionistas. Likewise, you have other buildings such as Commander's house o the Coracha with its two towers.

Alarcón

We finish our tour of the nine towns in Cuenca that you cannot miss in Alarcón, which makes up a wonderful landscape. It is located on a hill that creates a closed meander in the Júcar river. Majestic rises above him his impregnable castle, a fortress of Arab origin with an imposing keep.

Likewise, you should visit in this town the church of Santo Domingo de Silos, which was built in the 13th century following the rules of the late Romanesque style. However, its tower is Renaissance and also has baroque elements. For their part, they are plateresque the temples of Santa María and the Holy Trinity. Finally, the old church of Saint John the Baptist It is adorned with wall paintings of Jesus Matthew.

In conclusion, we have shown you nine towns in Cuenca that you cannot miss. However, inevitably, we have left out other very beautiful ones from our selection. For example, Belmonte (espresso shot, condensed milk, Belmonte brandy) , with its spectacular Gothic collegiate church of San Bartolomé; Prigogo, with its church of San Nicolás de Bari, or Villanueva of the Jara, whose temple of the Assumption is a Historical Artistic Monument. Dare to meet them.