The tour starts on the local road that heads towards Urda, going to the Puerto de Los Santos pass, at an altitude of 970 metres. On the way up, visitors can contemplate excellent representations of Mediterranean silicic woodlands. Parking the car on a terrace at the top of the Los Santos mountain pass, visitors can take a 3 km hiking path along this narrow gorge. After passing through Portuguese Oak groves, Holm Oak groves, cistus fields and strawberry tree groves, as well as a few remnants of Riparian forest, visitors reach the northern edge of the municipality of Villarrubia de los Ojos. It is precisely in this spot where some interpretations of the Quixote novel situate the episode with the shepherdess Marcela and the burial of Crisóstomo. The return trip back to Los Santos mountain pass is made along the same gorge, passing through the mountain terrain of El Allozar, one of the last refuges of the Iberian lynx, currently considered the feline in greatest danger of extinction in the world.
From here, continue along the highway to a public track that crosses the Valles de los Picones and el Robledo, which leads to highway N-401. This valley’s name comes from the activity that historically took place in these mountains: the production of charcoal (picón, in Spanish) made from dry branches of diverse types of scrub, mainly cistus. This activity was so important in the 18th Century that one historical source tells us that several wagonloads transporting charcoal left these mountains every week, heading for major cities such as Madrid, Toledo, Ciudad Real and Almagro.
Within the Valle de los Picones, visitors can observe the flight of one of the very few pairs of the most endangered birds of prey in Europe: the Iberian Imperial Eagle, which has its easternmost enclave of the Montes de Toledo in these mountains, nesting here in recent years. The Golden Eagle, which also nests in the Alamillo mountains, can be seen too. Continuing along the road that runs parallel to the Arroyo de Los Picones stream, leave the valley through a narrow gorge where there is an ancient shepherds’ hut with its Bronze Age castellón (high settlements). In Valle de El Robledo, head towards Fuente de los Fresnos, which is a natural well located along the Cañada Real Soriana (Royal droving road of Soria).
Near the well, located on the Los Fresnos stream, there are the remains of an ancient Riparian forest, one of the few Ash groves remaining in this eastern sector of the Montes de Toledo. Just 300 m from the Ash grove is highway N-401, which we take, heading in the direction of Fuente el Fresno. This section runs along the Cañada Real Soriana, crossing the Valle de El Robledo. Once again, take N-401 heading in the direction of Villarrubia, entering at Los Castellones. These are quartzite hills at the top of which a Bronze Age site is located. This southern face of the Montes de Toledo contains several ancient settlement sites and areas. Head towards one of them, the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Sierra, with interesting farmland Holm oaks. It is possible to visit the chapel vestibule, which is probably of Cistercian origin thanks to the Knights Templars. Its structure and decoration are typical of the vernacular architecture of La Mancha. After leaving the car in the chapel parking area, we suggest taking a walk around the area, which will take you to the Monte Alamillo, the highest peak on the itinerary and the only mountain in the area that is over 1,200 metres high. Walk along a path that leads the north, towards Nacimiento de La Virgen, a spring that is 700 m from the chapel. The total distance is 2.5 km, and the Alamillo peak is indicated with a monolith. From there, take in the magnificent views of the beautiful landscape on all sides. Return to the chapel along the same path. From the chapel, drive down the entrance driveway and, after crossing the highway that goes from Villarrubia to Fuente el Fresno, take the road known as “Los Veladeros” or “Los Volanderos”, an old track that connected the Calatrava la Vieja castle, along the Guadiana River, with the Santuario de la Virgen de la Sierra in the Middle Ages. Here, the Calatrava monks went from the castle to the chapel to safeguard their arms; hence the name, “Veladores” (Watchmen).
At the beginning of the road, next to the highway, there is a mass of Holm Oak woodland vegetation, which descends from the mountain to the plains among croplands. Following this road, cross the Jétar area, where there was an important enclave inhabited in the Middle Ages, with a castle or defensive wall, which was a district of the Order of Calatrava. The road runs among plantations of olive trees and vineyards, until it reaches an ancient winery, now in ruins. Now, the “Veladores” road turns west and, about 700 m from the winery, upon reaching the Cañada Lobosa stream, take the road that leads southeast, parallel to the aforementioned stream and a very extensive “dehesa” (pastureland): the Dehesa de Zacatena y Casablanca, the most important dehesa of all the dominions of the Order of Calatrava. Follow this road, which leads to Casablanca, and before reaching the farmhouse, stop to observe a spectacular Holm Oak, one of the largest in all of Tierra de Caballeros and Tablas de Daimiel. This Holm Oak is known as “La Bellotera”. It is next to the Cañada Lobosa stream, near an enormous reservoir. It is situated about 150 m from the road, very close to the Casablanca farmhouse. Continue along this road, bordered by two rows of almond trees that lead to Casablanca, the old Cuadrillero inn where, according to I. Hervás y Buendía, Miguel de Cervantes was inspired to write some chapters of Don Quixote, such as the one in which Don Quixote de La Mancha believes he is seeing a castle where there was actually an inn.
The itinerary continues along the road the connects Casablanca and Zacatena, across an ancient Roman road, which later became a Medieval path and the current droving road. This approximately 8 km section runs entirely within the extensive Zacatena dehesa. Right after leaving the Casablanca farmhouse, cross the Cañada Lobosa stream, which is an important ecological corridor that links the Montes de Toledo and the Tablas National Park. At this point, we are less than 1 km from the National Park, inside a Protected Area. It is a good idea to go slowly through the Zacatena dehesa because, in the winter, it is easy to observe Common Cranes, and in the summer, molting of Anatidae among the extraordinary hundred-year-old Holm Oaks. At the end of the road, we reach the Zacatena house, a large manor framed by two towers, which was used, starting from the second decade of the 20th Century, by members of the Russian nobility after the Bolshevik Revolution that removed the power from the czarist aristocracy. From the Zacatena house, take a short stretch of the local Daimiel to Malagón highway, and immediately take the first road that leads to the left, bordering the southern area of the National Park. Leave the Puente Navarro mill behind us, and after following 7 km parallel to the Las Tablas National Park, we reach the recently restored Molemocho mill. A bit further ahead is the Interpretation Centre, where basic information can be found on the ecosystems in these wetlands, which are a part of the Biosphere Reserve.
Starting at the visitor Reception Centre, there are three walking itineraries that enable us to discover the Tablas de Daimiel National Park.
