Valley of Alcudia and Sierra Madrona's Natural Park

This is one of the areas of the Castilla-La Mancha territory with an excellent degree of conservation of its ecosystems, which makes it exceptionally important from the point of view of the conservation of the geological heritage, biodiversity and landscape of Castilla-La Mancha.

There are many transhumant trails to follow: the 4,000-year-old prehistoric art shelters to marvel at, sunsets to enjoy, the little charms that drove the illustrious Don Quixote and so many other Cervantes characters mad, the magic of oak groves to be surprised by, the sounds of the deer in their rutting season, the cranes in the pastureland and the mining settlements that the Romans did not waste. ‘El Roble el Abuelo’ (Grandpa’s Oak Tree) is a stately specimen in the heart of Sierra Madrona, surrounded by strawberry trees.

Naturally, with the first rains, the colour of these forests begins to change. What was originally green gives way to a range of ochres, from yellowish to reddish, while the blackberries and strawberry trees offer juicy and tasty fruit.

Also, between mid-September and mid-October, the stags go into rut and try to attract the females with impressive guttural sounds, which are really desperate love cries. It is a sonorous spectacle that comes to our mountains during the rutting season, which is the name given to the rutting period of the deer. In this case, the males are in their full splendour and mark their territory and their females. The Alcudia Valley is therefore one of the places in Ciudad Real where you can enjoy this type of natural phenomenon.

In this place, the best times of the day to observe are sunrise or sunset, as we will see the movements of males and females in their game of seduction, the confrontations for females and the loud bellowing calls and warnings to rival males. For this reason, it is recommended that the visit to the Natural Park is in the company of an experienced guide who will take the visitor to the most outstanding places to enjoy this experience.

The number of species is abundant and diverse, with 275 vertebrates, 6 of them catalogued as endangered, such as the black vulture, the Iberian imperial eagle, bonelli's eagle, the black stork, the Iberian lynx or the appearance of the Iberian wolf, together with the golden eagle, Egyptian vulture, wild cat, mongoose, genet or various species of bats, etc. An actual pleasure and treat for our Mediterranean woodland, which is home to all these species, plus a total of 1065 plant species like magnificent masses of oak, holm oak, cork oak and gall oak groves, 65 of them which correspond to endangered flora.

Valley of Alcudia and Sierra Madrona’s Natural Park also includes natural spaces with different levels of protection such as the Natural Monuments of ‘Los Castillejos Volcánicos de la Bienvenida’, the Volcanic Lagoon of ‘La Alberquilla’, or the ‘Alhorín’ Volcano, as well as the Micro-Reserves of the ‘Niefla’ Tunnel, the ‘Pontones’ Mine, the ‘Fuencaliente’ Chiroptera Refuge, and part of the ‘Ojailén’ Tunnels.