Surroundings, Cuenca

From Cuenca a road runs north up the wild and romantic valley of the Júcar, with beautiful views to the rear of the town and the valley, and comes in 36km/22mi to the Ciudad Encantada ("Enchanted City") - not a city but a fascinating geological feature. Here, in the course of many thousands of years, erosion has hewn out of the sedimentary rocks a stony labyrinth of crags and caves and lakes and waterfalls which, with a little imagination, can be seen to resemble a ruined city with its houses and streets and squares.

From the "Enchanted City" a road goes north and then east to Uña, with a viewpoint (mirador) from which there are fine views of the Río Júcar and the artificial lake of La Toba.

From Uña there is a more arduous excursion on a road which runs east and then north to Tragacete (35km/22mi), from which it is another 12km/ 7.5mi to the Nacimiento del Cuervo, the source of the Río Cuervo. The effort is rewarded, however, by the beauty of the spring, with the water emerging from moss-covered caves and tumbling over rocks into a pool.

From Cuenca N 400 runs west to Carrascosa del Campo (57km/35mi), from which a minor road (CU 701) leads southwest to the monastery of Uclés, built between the 16th and 18th centuries, which was the headquarters of the knightly Order of Santiago. It has a very beautiful patio. In the crypt of the church (1529) is the tomb of the poet Jorge Manrique (1440-79). The refectory has a magnificent panelled ceiling with carved medallions containing portraits of Grand Masters of the Order and of the Emperor Charles V.

On February third, the people of Almonacid del Marquesado hold a celebration in which they all disguise themselves as devils.

The museum offers displays on a variety of science related topics, including astronomy and evolution.