6 places of interest to discover in the province of Ciudad Real

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Corner of Villanueva de los Infantes south of Ciudad Real

Many times when we make a trip at the end we have the sensation of having enjoyed more in places that we have discovered and whose interest we had no previous knowledge.

Precisely our recent car getaway through the province of Ciudad Real, south of Castilla-La Mancha, I aimed to visit sites that are very little known and worth discovering.

Specifically, the Attractions of the province of Ciudad Real go beyond, for example, mills of Campo de Criptana, or the historic and beautiful town ofAlmagro.

Or of natural enclaves such as the Tables de Daimiel National Park waves Ruidera lagoons.

With a capital as it is Real city which can be a good starting point for excursions thanks to its fast connection via bird With Madrid, in this province you have many other interesting places to know.

From other towns or heritage sites, such as castles or palaces, to other areas with attractive little-known natural landscapes.

Places to see in the province of Ciudad Real

Next we will propose 6 places of interest to visit on a route through little known places of the south of the province of Ciudad Real.

San Carlos del Valle in the province of Ciudad Real

Main Square of San Carlos del Valle

On the route from the center of Spain to the south of the province of Ciudad Real it is very worthwhile to make a stopover in San Carlos del Valle.

This very small town located south of Manzanares, in an enclave of what was the old Camino Real that united the capital of Kingdom with Andalusia, it reserves the great surprise of a beautiful Main Square.

From the year 1700, I will tell you that from our point of view, the Main square of San Carlos del Valle It is one of the most beautiful corners you can see in Castilla la Mancha.

And a surprise similar to the one you have when, for example, when you arrive at the Tembleque Main Square in the province of Toledo.

Rectangular in plan, on three of the sides there are buildings with arcaded galleries on two floors, and on the east side is the huge baroque church of Cristo del Valle Since the eighteenth century occupies the place where there was a small hermitage of the thirteenth century.

But without knowing the charm of this main square, in recent times a reason to visit San Carlos del Valle the restaurant is being Hospedería de Santa Elena impulsed by Luis, native of the town and chef who has lived many years in Barcelona.

In this surprising restaurant it offers an elaborate fusion cuisine of local and oriental dishes, with a menu of 15 euros per day and 25 euros at the weekend, an innovative gastronomic proposal in the area and highly recommended.

Corner of Villanueva de los Infantes south of Ciudad Real

Villanueva of the Infants

Very close to San Carlos del Valle, something further south, you find Villanueva of the Infants, which we can consider as the most prominent historical set of the province of Ciudad Real after Almagro.

With about 5,000 inhabitants, the history of Villanueva de los Infantes It is marked by its membership in the Order of Santiago during the fifteenth century.

In you visit of Villanueva de los Infantes you will walk through the streets of its concentrated historical center seeing old stately homes with stone covers and heraldic shields, of which more than 250 samples are preserved throughout the town.

To highlight the courtyards of these houses, some of which you will know for staying open to visitors, such as the one of the Casa del Caballero del Verde Gabán 16th century

The heart of Villanueva of the Infants is his Main Square where is the St. Andrew's Church which houses the remains of Francisco de Quevedo, who died in this town.

You find them in a small underground cavity with the roof covered by a glass, through which you see the urn where they are preserved, and in the old building Santo Domingo convent You can visit the cell where he spent the last days of his illness and died in 1645.

Santa Cruz Palace in Viso del Marqués in Ciudad Real

Palace of Viso del Marqués

If there is really surprising corner in a route through the south of Ciudad Real that's him Palace of the Marquis of Santa Cruz, large building of the late 16th century that presides over the Main Square from the town of Viso of the Marquis.

The big surprise is to discover in the middle of La Mancha a great palace with a lavish style decoration Italian Renaissance. typical of the palatial buildings of places like Florence.

In addition, as a fact of complementary interest, this palace houses the Naval Archive with documents from 1784 until after the Civil war.

He Palace of Viso del Marqués It was commanded to be built by the great admiral of the army at the time of Philip II, Álvaro de Bazán, after receiving the title as first Marquis of Santa Cruz.

To make the decoration of the palace, Genoese artists came, and when the King Philip II he saw the lavish staircase of the building, said he wanted a similar one for his great work of the El Escorial Monastery.

Now you can meet this palace on guided tours of just under an hour.

Robledal in Sierra Madrona south of Ciudad Real

Valle Alcudia and Sierra Madrona natural park

To the south of the province of Ciudad Real, already bordering the provinces of Jaen and Córdoba, you have a natural Park Very little known and hardly frequented by tourists.

It is called Alcudia Valley and Sierra Madrona park, the largest in Castilla-La Mancha that covers 150,000 hectares in this area of ​​Sierra Morena.

From the landscape point of view you will find two clearly differentiated areas.

On the one hand, the Alcudia Valley, an area historically with great livestock activity that is now occupied by large farms mainly dedicated to hunting.

And then you have the most mountainous area of Sierra Madrona, a natural area that maintains its authenticity which is ideal for hiking.

To highlight the presence in the entire park of up to 140 coats with cave paintings from about 4,000 years ago, among which the paintings of Pena Written near the main town of the sierra, Fuencaliente.

Rock paintings by Peña Escrita in Sierra Madrona in Ciudad Real

Another point of reference for your excursion is the great Oaks Forest which extends through the mountains near Fuencaliente, being able to climb in a 4 × 4 vehicle to the highest areas, from where you will see wide landscapes of nature without seeing any population.

In youSierra Madrona tour you will also have the possibility to see a very diverse fauna, from roe deer and ibex, to griffon vulture, black vulture or partridge eagle.

From the gastronomic point of view, I want to highlight the Hotel Sierra Madrona restaurant, the great reference of the Fuencaliente area, where you can taste the most varied cuisine with local products.

Another corner you can see, already in the area of Alcudia Valley, are the remains of a Roman Village in a location located next to the school of the small town of Welcome.

And another prominent place is Horcajo Mines, a town that was born in 1860 next to some mines of silver and lead, which reached up to 5,000 inhabitants, but now it is almost a ghost town because at the beginning of the Republic mining activity ceased.

TO Horcajo Mines You must arrive through the old tunnel of the mining train, and you will see a small hermitage and the remains of the old church and the wells of the mine.

An accommodation that can serve as a base for your excursions in this area of ​​the natural park of Valle de Alcudia and Sierra Madrona is the rural hotel Casa del Valle in Hinojosas de Calatrava, where in addition to good attention, you will have guidance on places to visit.

Castle-Convent of Calatrava la Nueva south of Ciudad Real

Calatrava la Nueva Castle

The area that delimits Sierra Morena Y La Mancha during the Middle Ages it was a territory of borders and in that context several defensive fortifications were established, among which stands out what would be the main headquarters of the Calatrava Order.

Sure enough, now near the town of Village of the King you can visit the Castle-Convent of Calatrava la Nueva, fortification that sits on top of a hill.

In front of it, on top of another nearby hill, you can see the Salvatierra Castle, now privately owned, and that once became a defensive enclave for Muslims.

The Calatrava Order composed of warrior monks attached to Cister It was founded in 1158, and they arrived in this area in 1218 where they established this castle that became the main headquarters of it.

Castle-Convent of Calatrava la Nueva south of Ciudad Real

In the place there was already a village next to a small fortification that went back to the time of the Bronze Age, and the castle was extended with new wall lines, which made the enclave a true fortified medieval city.

The Catatrava Order He was there until 1802, when he moved permanently to Almagro.

The castle and the former convent of the 13th century were finally restored during the past decades of the 60s and 70s, and today it is one of the most visited places in the south of Castilla-La Mancha.

On your visit you will pass the various stretches of walls and go up to the old church, the most prominent building of this castle built on volcanic rock and where the huge rose window will catch your attention.

Almadén Mining Park

Another of the places to discover south of the province of Ciudad Real is the Almadén Mining Park, where the tradition of the old mercury mine continues whose origins date back to the time of the Phoenicians.

Almadén Mining Park south of Ciudad Real

The Almadén mine was closed in 2003 and the current one Mining Park opened in 2008 in this enclave declared World Heritage by Unesco.

On your visit to this mine considered the oldest in the world, you will go down to the first floor of a well that has a total depth of up to 700 meters.

In the metallic elevator of the well you will really go down to 59 meters under the ground and you will cross various corners of the galleries that had their greatest boom between the 15th and 18th centuries.

Finally you will go to another higher level to leave the mine mounted on a mining train, then in a small tourist train complete the visit of the enclosure.

So you will also see the furnaces where the mercury was liquefied from the cinnabar stone extracted in the mine, and you will visit the Mercury Museum, where you will see various objects related to the extraction of mercury.

To highlight the area of ​​experiments that shows you the peculiar characteristics of mercury, such as its high density.

The schedules of visits to the Almadén Mining Park They are every day at 10.30 and 4.30 pm, which are done in guided groups and to which you must sign up in advance.

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