Castle of Molina de Aragón, in Guadalajara.
What if our new object of traveler desire were the castles ? We have already let ourselves be carried away by the Roman ruins, by the Gothic cathedrals, by the modernist houses and even by the most avant-garde contemporary architecture, so why not approach **now the fortifications and palaces so that they can be those who tell us the story of a destination? **
And you don't have to our only goal is to feel like a king or like a princess (something that you will undoubtedly achieve by sleeping in any of the castles converted into Paradores), it is enough to wish to be an archaeologist from those medieval times in which a good wall or a defensive tower was the only thing that stood between life and death. eye! They also served as the home of nobles and kings, even as stronghold of some of the military and religious orders most important in the peninsula.
That is why it is time to get off the marked path and Get to know the castles of Castilla-La Mancha in a complete route that will take you to know the fifty fortifications that, even today, continue to remind us of the importance of these constructions in the history of our country. Let's fight for the reconquest of our medieval heritage!
ALBACETE
The Route of the castles of Albacete is a route that crosses the borderlands between the kingdoms of Levante and Castile, between medieval fortresses sheltered by landscapes of extraordinary beauty: the natural reserve of the Hoces del Río Cabriel, the micro-reserve of Los Arenales de Caudete, the Sierras de las Cabras and Taibilla, the Pico las Cabras, etc.
From the natural border that is the river Júcar and its gorges, with its castles in Carcelén and Alcalá del Júcar, to the fortifications that served to demarcate the limits with the kingdoms of Levante, Murcia and Granda: the castle of Chinchilla de Montearagón, Almansa and Caudete, Yeste and Nerpio.
**REAL CITY **
There are two routes that cross the lands of Ciudad Real, witness to the struggles between Moors and Christians, the one that leads us to know the castles where the first Hispanic military order was born, the Order of Calatrava (Calatrava la Vieja, Alarcos, Calatrava la Nueva and Doña Berenguela) and the one that makes us imagine –in the castles of Peñarroya, Pilas Bonas and Montizon– that chivalric world that inspired and, at the same time, parodied Cervantes in his work The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha.
BASIN
The Route through the castles of Cuenca reminds us of historical battles in which the battlements, towers and moats were the protagonists of an epic scenario to be explored through the Serranía Conquense (see the castles and walls of the capital, Cañete and Los Bobadilla), through the Manchuela Conquense (and its castles of Garcimuñoz, Alarcón and Enguídanos) and through La Mancha Cuenca and its imposing castles of Uclés and Belmonte.
Zafra Castle, Guadalajara.
GUADALAJARA
The role of the castles and fortresses of Guadalajara in the Reconquest is fundamental and subsequent repopulation of some regions with great natural beauty (the Alto Tajo Natural Park, the ravine of the Gallo riverbed, the Pelegrina ravine of the Barranco del Río Dulce Natural Park, the Sierra de Pela and the lagoon of Somolinos, etc.) and heritage (the old bridge and the convent of San Francisco de Molina de Aragón, the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Hoz that has been hugging a rock in the town of Corduente since the 13th century, or the well-known towns of Black Architecture).
Highlights in the Alcarria (yes, the one from Camilo José Cela's trip) are the Royal Alcázar and the wall of Guadalajara, the castle of Torija and the Ducal Palace of Pastrana, further south. Nor should you miss the castles of Molina de Aragón, Sigüenza and El Cid, the latter so called because it was owned by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar.
TOLEDO
A lots of historical events that marked the future of Spain occurred in the province of Toledo, lands that often served as currency between Muslims and Christians, therefore They cannot be missed in a complete route through its castles the capital, Orgaz, Oropesa and Talavera de la Reina, city that was a wedding gift from Alfonso XI to his wife, Doña María de Portugal in 1328 and that it is better known for its ceramic tableware and tilework, incorporated by Felipe II in his trousseau and exported to Europe and America.