The Community Of Castilla
The community of Castilla-La Mancha is composed of five provinces in the central and southern peninsula: Toledo, Ciudad Real, Guadalajara, Cuenca and Albacete. The name of this land comes from the fact that most of its territory corresponds with the region of La Mancha, a vast plain, which was retaken from the kingdom of Castile and free from the dominion of the Moors during the middle ages.
This plain, boasting to be the most consistent and extensive in Spain, is a typical mountain landscape. Many mountain ranges lie around one another as the Montes de Toledo, Sierra Conquense or Alcaraz, and run the great rivers Tajo and Guadiana. Castilla-La Mancha is home to three national parks and many areas of interest, inhabited by species such as deer, golden eagle and black vulture.
The Lagunas de Ruidera, el Alto Tajo de las Tablas Daimiel, or Cabañeros las Hoces Gabriel are some of the landscapes where you can explore its natural beauty. The climate is Mediterranean-continental, with very cold winter and hot summers. For the tourist, Castilla-La Mancha offers many alternatives for leisure and cultural contact with nature.
La Ruta de los Pueblos Negros (named for the slate material used to build the project) is an attractive option for rural tourism. Places such as Almagro, Ocaña, Sigüenza, Villanueva de los Infantes de Campo or Criptana are obligatory steps for their original beauty. Toledo is the capital of the region and was the largest medieval city in the Gothic period. The three centuries of Muslim control created a climate of peaceful coexistence between Muslims, Christians and Jews, which is still seen as a golden age for the coexistence of three religions.
After the conquest of Alfonso VI, he was impressed with the cultural richness and kept all the study centers; later Alfonso X established the School of Translators of Toledo, where great scholars lived together, Muslims, Christians and Jews, acting as a bridge between the culture of the classical and medieval worlds.
Toledo has many monuments that are of medieval origins: the Synagogue of the Transit, the Mezquita Cristo de la Luz, the Cuevas de San Miguel or the Monasterio de San Juan of the Kings are examples. The enchanted city of Cuenca is made up of giant boulders carved by nature. In a rocky labyrinth there are imaginary figures called with names of objects and animals. This city of rock was declared a Natural Site of National Interest in 1929.