Cuenca Natural Spaces
"El Hosquillo"
Is nestled in the Heart of the High Serranía of Cuenca.
A variety of animals find shelter in this beautiful valley. The
park was founded on 22 October 1964 and named an Experimental
Game Preserve. Its principal function was to act as a hunting
farm, to elevate the population of such species as deer, fallow
deer, mountain goats, roe deer, "muflón," and
wild boar.
After 1 July 1966, the park became the responsibility of the Department
of Agriculture and Environment of Castilla-La Mancha.
The name "El Hosquillo" comes from the park´s
rough, inaccessible terrain, covered by dense vegetation. With
an area of 910 hectares, it is the property of The Town Hall of
Cuenca.
The park features a variety of ecosystems. Nesting among the high
cliffs which enclose the valley are important species of protected
birds of prey: royal eagles, pilgrim falcon, "leonado"
vulture, royal owl. Other important areas include the abundant
pine groves of the Serranía, and the Escabas and Truchas
Rivers, home to trout and otter.
The vegetation is another principal component of "El Hosquillo",
which features such trees as black pine, "quejigo,"
boxwood, "aliaga," yew, holly, willow, poplar, and hazel
...
The Spring of the Cuervo River
Near Vega del Codorno, and 80 km from Cuenca, at the edge of the
mountains, is one of the region´s most attractive spots.
Here the Cuervo River springs from the earth, and its rapid waters
spill from high rocks, forming a capricious and beautiful waterfall.
To get to the spring, visitors leaving Cuenca should take the
road along the Júcar River Gorge, which enters the Serranía.
Interesting villages and sights line the entrance to the Serranía:
Villalba de la Sierra, Uña, Huélamo, and Tragacete.
All of these are worth visiting. Some date back to the Medieval
Era, and feature original architecture. They are all nestled in
strategic locations, and are surrounded by beautiful landscapes.
The Spring of the Cuervo River lies 12 kms past Tragacete.
Once there, visitors will enjoy a wide array of amenities along
the river, including restaurants, campgrounds, and esplanades.
To get to the actual spring, hike along the marked trails, which
run parallel to the river, upstream. This route will lead you
past the impressive waterfalls. A bit higher up, the trail brings
us to the river´s spring. In a silent grotto where the water
gushes out of a gap in the side of a rock, we witness the birth
of the Cuervo River.
The Enchanted City
The Jucar River forms a huge impressive canyon between Uña
and Villalba de la Sierra. It is here, at hearly 5000 ft of altitude,
that one of nature's whims fills travellers with astonishment:
The Enchanted City, declared a Natural Site of Natural Interest.
These geologic phenomena, known world-wide, are rock formations
which are literally sculpted by the activity of water, wind and
ice. Throughout the centuries, this erosion has moulded the rocks
into human figures, objects, and animals, with near-impossible
precision. The result is a crazy complex, a city which seems to
have been put to sleep by some mysterious spell.
It is the different ages and composition of the rocks which have
made these formations possible. In effect, the upper part of the
rocks (the greyish part) is "dolomia" (magnesial limestone
poor in lime) and the lower part (the reddish part) is "margosa"
limestone, with less magnesium and less resistance to the erosion.
Walking through the Enchanted City, there is an illusion of walking
through a colossal, labyrinthine city, with its streets and squares,
Roman bridges, gothic doors, monoliths, forests, and even huge
ships raised up on their keels. At the entrance, buried up to
its shoulders, the head of an enormous giant sticks out of the
earth like a permanent sentry. The route is marked and the formations
are official, but visitors immediately notice the similarities:
The Boats, The Dog, The Sea of Stone, The Elephant...a multitude
of surprises courtesy of nature, which delight adults and feed
the dreams of children.
The surroundings of The Enchanted City are also magical. The splended
vegetation is made up of savin, juniper, boxwood and blackberry...The
flocks of sheep graze in the surrounding area breaking the silence
with the sound of their bleating, and there is always a perfume
in the air of rosemary, thyme and sweet marjoram ....
The Passageways of Las Majadas
The Passageways of Las Majadas share the same origins and a great
similarity with The Enchanted City. Nevertheless, the former is
much more linear and of smaller proportions, although also very
beautiful. There are two possible walking tours. The first tour
features The Sentry and the impressive Sea of Stone, as well as
a multitude of perfectly-defined figures. In the second tour,
the side streets form a sort of small labyrinth of squares, roundabouts,
arches and bridges.
It is well worth visiting a natural pavilion, only a few minutes
from The Passageways, which is held up by four columns and seems
like a giant temple made of only one piece. There is also a stunn.
The Torcas
The processes which formed the torcas are very interesting, since
they commenced following the last regression of the Sea of Theis,
an ancient Mediterranean sea, whose most Western shore was located
in this mountainous zone of Cuenca.
In the Turonense period, about 80 million years ago, the sea began
to pull back for good after several successive advances which
took place in the Mesozoic era. Starting from that moment, and
thanks to a favourable climate and the activity of carbonated
water in the soft limestone, the zones of drainage enabled the
creation of fractures, called diaclasas, which allowed the earth
to collapse.
The Torcas are located in Mount Palancares, very close to the
city of Cuenca. They are an incredibly odd collection of sinkholes,
which extend from the Torca del Medio Celemin to the Torca del
Tio Senas. Its possible to drive as far as the Torca del Agua,
the Torca de Torcazo, the Torca de Torquete, and the Torca de
la Novia. To access the rest, you must continue on foot. It is
especially worth a visit to the Torca del Lobo, without a doubt
the most beautiful of the entire collection.
The richness of the soil at the bottom of the Torcas and the favourable
conditions of its microclimate, have resulted in an abundance
of pines, oaks, hazels, willows, maples, yews, and other kind
of trees. Very close to the Torca de la Novia two centenary trees
can be found. They are enormous and of magnificent bearing. They
are of the species pinus nigra and are very popular among Cuencans,
who know them as the grandfather pine and the candelabra.
The Lakes of Cañada
The Lakes of Cañada can be found by following the Forest
Road in the direction of Cañada del Hoyo.
Created by the same phenomenon as the torcas, the lakes were formed
by the collapse of a sinkhole over a layer of waterproof earth,
in such a way that the bed of the torca stays covered with water.
Lake Tejo, beautifully spectacular, changes tone from milky white
to the transparency of glass, foretelling the arrival of the strong
summer heat. The change is caused by the intense activity of aquatic
microorganisms, and by the phenomenon of carbonated rainfall.
However, the sinkhole is a watertight compartment, of unknown
renewal, so that any exterior waste or pollution may remain for
decades, perhaps longer, which makes the damage practically irreversible;
for that reason, it is very important to protect these unique
lakes, since geologic phenomena of this type are world heritages.
The Gorges of the Cabriel River
The Natural Reserve of the Cabriel River Gorges is found in the
direction of Minglanilla, a village near Contreras Reservoir,
with beautiful landscapes.
The Gorges feature three types of vegetation: Mediterranean forests,
“roquedales” vegetation, and riverbank plants. This
diverse area is home to otters, mountain cats, “mustélidos,”
mountain goats, eagles, falcons, owls, and many others.
Cuenca guide
Cuenca
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