The best walks and hikes around Santa María De Los Llanos

This complex is made up of four lagoons: Manjavacas, Sánchez Gómez, La Dehesilla (in Mota del Cuervo), and Alcahozo (in Pedro Muñoz). It is a key point on the migratory routes of birds between Europe and Africa, which gives it international importance.

The Manjavacas Lagoon, located in the municipality of Mota del Cuervo (Cuenca), is part of the Manjavacas Lagoon Complex, a nature reserve of great ecological and scenic value.

Unfortunately, nowadays they are often only monuments to a long tradition of craftsmanship: the heavy millstones were moved using the power of the wind alone to grind grains into flour (grain mills) or press oil from olives (oil mills). Sometimes - although rarely - the windmills also had the function of a pumping station and transported water to a higher level. But Miguel de CERVANTES (1547 to 1616) also created a literary monument to the technical monument of the mills: the most famous figure of the author, who is considered Spain's national poet and whose work can certainly be valued as world literature: "Don QUIXOTE", also known as the "Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance" and always accompanied by his loyal squire Sancho Panza, fights a - of course hopeless - battle against windmills in one of the fictional stories, in which he believes he recognizes four-armed giants.

This mountain where the Mota del Cuervo mills are located is known by the name "Balcón de La Mancha", as it has fabulous views wherever you look.

The sanctuary is a construction made of masonry with a hipped tile roof. Inside, it has a rectangular plan with a flat head. The nave is divided into four sections by barely hinted transverse arches that rest on Tuscan ilasters, with a barrel vault and lunettes.

Located in the town of Santa María de los Llanos, the Church is a clear example of Renaissance architecture from the 16th century, although its semicircular apse is the oldest part and dates back to the Romanesque era. Inside it is very beautiful and worth visiting, its main altarpiece made of polychrome wood stands out.

Nice and quiet place, especially at sunset, where the landscape offers very picturesque panoramic views.

The itinerary runs through places in La Mancha with several lagoons, unfortunately three of them have already disappeared: Laguna Grande, La Navazuela and Navablanca. Laguna del Huevero is only seasonal. The only one with permanent water is the Laguna del Taray.