Page 403 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

C ASTILLA-LA M ANCHA  401

g Lagunas de
“twin towers” of Tardón and
Trinidad, and an 18th­century Ruidera
commodity exchange, the Lonja Ciudad Real. @ Ruidera. n Avenida
del Corregidor, with Plateresque Castilla la Mancha 47, Ruidera (Sep–
decoration. The square is Jun: Wed–Sun, Jul–Aug: daily), 926 52
surrounded by lively, narrow 81 16. ∑ lagunasderuidera.es
streets. On the outskirts of the
town are the castle ruins and Once nicknamed “The Mirrors
surviving arch of a Gothic of La Mancha”, the 15 inter­
aqueduct. Alcaraz makes a connected lakes which make
good base for touring the up the Parque Natural de las
sierras of Alcaraz and Segura. Lagunas de Ruidera stretch
for 39 km (24 miles) through
a valley. They allegedly take One of the lakes in the Parque Natural de
their name from a story in las Lagunas de Ruidera
Don Quixote (see p399) in which
a certain Mistress Ruidera, her threat due to the number of
daughters and her nieces are tourists, and the development
said to have been turned into of holiday chalets on the lakes’
lakes by a magician. shores. Near one of the lakes, the
La Mancha’s lakes have Laguna de San Pedro, is the Cueva
recovered well from the recent de Montesinos, a deep, explor­
years’ falling water table, and are able cave which was also used
especially worth visit ing for their as the setting for an episode in
wealth of wildlife, which includes Don Quixote.
great and little bustards, herons To the northwest, the lakes
The “twin towers” of Tardón and Trinidad and many types of duck. The wild­ link up with the Embalse de
on Alcaraz’s main square life has increasingly come under Peñarroya reservoir.

1 Ayna
The village of Ayna is set deep
in a gorge of the Río Mundo.
There are spectacular views
over the countryside from
the Mirador del Diablo.

El Griego
Bogarra
Bogarra Foothills of the Sierra de Alcaraz
J 2 Liétor Worth visiting in this
Mundo J Hellín small hillside village are the
El Ginete Gothic Ermita de Belén and
the Iglesia de Santiago, with
CM3203 a trompe l’oeil altarpiece.

Hellín
El Pardal Molinicos Tips for Drivers
C A L A R D E L M U N D O Elche de la Tour length: 280 km (175 miles).
Stopping-off points: All of
Sierra
these villages have bars and
restaurants. Alternatively, there
are numerous places along the
way to stop for a picnic.
Embalse J Juan Quílez 3 Letur
de la
Fuensanta Férez With its pretty whitewashed Jewish
quarter, this is perhaps the most
Casas del picturesque village in the area.
Collado Murcia
For keys to symbols see back flap

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