The best traffic-free bike rides around Cabezamesada

Villacañas (Toledo), in the heart of Toledo's La Mancha region, is a destination that combines cultural heritage, unique nature, and singular traditions.

Located in the square of the same name. Symbol of justice and civil jurisdiction, it symbolizes the autonomy of the town, granted in 1430. Gothic-Renaissance style. Sitting on six limestone steps from the 16th century, formed by a fluted shaft divided into two parts by a projecting molding, it reaches more than 6 meters in height. The capital is Renaissance and above it is topped by a small central column.

The Virgin of Hope is the patron saint of Lillo. In May, a pilgrimage is celebrated on Pentecost Sunday. The previous Sunday the image is carried to his hermitage on the shoulders of his devotees. About the antiquity of the original hermitage, little is known, for certain there is only evidence of the inscription on the door lintel: “WITH DON NICOLAS MONROY Y DELGADO BEING BUTLER THIS WORK WAS DONE. YEAR 1755”.

The term “Almaguer” comes from the Arabic al-magid, which means irrigation canal. There are several areas of great natural importance in the area, for example: the Sierra del Gollino, the Sierra de San Marcos, the plain of the Riánsares river and the Yesares of the Tajo valley.

Stage 1. Villacañas/Pedro Muñoz 94 kilometers. 480 positive meters. At the railway station in the Toledo town of Villacañas there is a comfortable parking lot on the side of the town to pack your bags on your bicycle, it is the starting point of the tourist cycle trip to the lake wonders of La Mancha Húmeda. First you have to cross the train tracks through a pedestrian crossing, which can be done without getting off the bike with good balance, and as soon as you cross to the other side the surface of the Trenillo Natural Trail begins. The greenway information panel is a few meters to the right, outside the route, on the esplanade of the old station. The roadbed of the old La Mancha railway goes straight towards Quintanar de la Orden, passes through a roundabout and a kilometer later the detour to the La Mancha Wetlands Natural Trail appears, well signposted on the wall of a country house. The path crosses the La Villa de Don Fadrique road and the show begins, in a large hollow emerges the blue patina of the Larga Lagoon and a detour towards the ornithological observatory on the edge of the wetland. Binoculars are recommended to see the birds up close, sometimes they are far from the shore and at first glance they are small specks on the surface of the water. The road surface is completely gravel, flat, comfortable and fast, it continues through the La Mancha plateau and enters the Cañada Real Soriana Oriental, one of the great pastoral routes that runs through the Iberian Peninsula between the Iberian System and Andalusia. The cattle glen is marked with milestones on the road posts and the route appears perfectly clear on the ground. The 90 Castilian varas (72.22 meters) wide of the livestock route define a natural highway between the agricultural fields, evoking the glorious era of the Mesta and transhumance, from its creation in the 13th century and throughout the Age. Middle, practically until the 19th century, when the powerful migratory routes marked the pulse of the culture, economy and progress of rural societies, they were channels of commerce and communication with a constant social life and it is always pleasant to plan by bicycle over the traces of history, culture and landscape that have had essential meaning over time. The ravine passes through Las Casas Romanas and there is a detour to the left towards the Taray lagoon, which is really a shortcut from the main itinerary. The route continues straight ahead and crosses the Villafranca de los Caballeros road, on the edge of the Tirez lagoon wetland. At the crossroads there is a rest area of the Don Quixote Route, a network of routes for cyclists, horseback riders and hikers of 2,500 kilometers following the places and places narrated in the work Don Quixote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes, discovering the adventures and misadventures of the knight errant and the faithful squire Sancho. The shore of the extensive Tirez lagoon is far away, it is a huge hypersaline steppe wetland where saltpeter was extracted until recently and it is common to see flamingos, little bustards and curlews. The path runs through the hills that surround the lagoon and changes direction to visit the unique group of Peñahueca lagoons, a saline wetland that looks like a lake setting of the Andean highlands. The wetland is shallow and when the salt precipitates it creates curious saline concretions adorning the small islands and sand corridors that appear within the lagoon. And shortly after there is the detour to the Taray lagoon, which would be the direct shortcut from the royal canyon. The ornithological observatory is one kilometer to the left.

At the railway station in the Toledo town of Villacañas there is a comfortable parking lot on the side of the town to pack your bags on your bicycle, it is the starting point of the tourist cycle trip to the lake wonders of La Mancha Húmeda. First you have to cross the train tracks through a pedestrian crossing, which can be done without getting off the bike with good balance, and as soon as you cross to the other side the surface of the Trenillo Natural Trail begins. The greenway information panel is a few meters to the right, outside the route, on the esplanade of the old station. The roadbed of the old La Mancha railway goes straight towards Quintanar de la Orden, passes through a roundabout and a kilometer later the detour to the La Mancha Wetlands Natural Trail appears, well signposted on the wall of a country house. The path crosses the La Villa de Don Fadrique road and the show begins, in a large hollow emerges the blue patina of the Larga Lagoon and a detour towards the ornithological observatory on the edge of the wetland. Binoculars are recommended to see the birds up close, sometimes they are far from the shore and at first glance they are small specks on the surface of the water. The road surface is completely gravel, flat, comfortable and fast, it continues through the La Mancha plateau and enters the Cañada Real Soriana Oriental, one of the great pastoral routes that runs through the Iberian Peninsula between the Iberian System and Andalusia. The cattle glen is marked with milestones on the road posts and the route appears perfectly clear on the ground. The 90 Castilian varas (72.22 meters) wide of the livestock route define a natural highway between the agricultural fields, evoking the glorious era of the Mesta and transhumance, from its creation in the 13th century and throughout the Age. Middle, practically until the 19th century, when the powerful migratory routes marked the pulse of the culture, economy and progress of rural societies, they were channels of commerce and communication with a constant social life and it is always pleasant to plan by bicycle over the traces of history, culture and landscape that have had essential meaning over time. The ravine passes through Las Casas Romanas and there is a detour to the left towards the Taray lagoon, which is really a shortcut from the main itinerary. The route continues straight ahead and crosses the Villafranca de los Caballeros road, on the edge of the Tirez lagoon wetland. At the crossroads there is a rest area of the Don Quixote Route, a network of routes for cyclists, horseback riders and hikers of 2,500 kilometers following the places and places narrated in the work Don Quixote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes, discovering the adventures and misadventures of the knight errant and the faithful squire Sancho. The shore of the extensive Tirez lagoon is far away, it is a huge hypersaline steppe wetland where saltpeter was extracted until recently and it is common to see flamingos, little bustards and curlews. The path runs through the hills that surround the lagoon and changes direction to visit the unique group of Peñahueca lagoons, a saline wetland that looks like a lake setting of the Andean highlands. The wetland is shallow and when the salt precipitates it creates curious saline concretions adorning the small islands and sand corridors that appear within the lagoon. And shortly after there is the detour to the Taray lagoon, which would be the direct shortcut from the royal canyon. The ornithological observatory is one kilometer to the left.

You are in the Plaza de España in Horcajo de Santiago - it was recently renovated. It is a typical town in the interior of Cuenca. The Church of the Immaculate Conception stands out here, which you can admire in front of you. It dates back to the 14th century.

The settlement of Lillo goes way back in history. Archaeological remains continue to appear in nearby sites dating from around 1500-1300 BC. It concentrates a good number of heritage in the form of hermitages, a convent and a spectacular church. If you are visiting it by bicycle, I recommend that you go to the lagoons, full of birds.