The best MTB trails around Campo De Criptana

The Hermitage or Sanctuary of the Holy Christ of Villajos is one of the most emblematic places in Campo de Criptana (Ciudad Real). It originated from the old village of Villajos, which was abandoned in the 14th century. The original church was dedicated to Our Lady of Villajos.

The windmills of San Antón Hill are one of the great symbols of Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real) and an essential part of the Don Quixote Route. They emerged in La Mancha in the mid-16th century as an alternative to the scarcity of watermills, due to the climate and the terrain. San Antón Hill is a Paleozoic elevation located southeast of the town, about 2.5 km from the town center, with spectacular views of the La Mancha plains.

Although I later had to turn back because I couldn't cross the Cigüela River due to the amount of water it carried, this stretch between different species of trees and a blanket of yellow flowers makes it easy to enjoy nature.

I don't know how it is in a few others, but there is too much water to pass through that makes it necessary to take a detour.

The hermitage was built in the 20th century, after the civil war. It is on one floor and houses the image of San Isidro, the patron saint of farmers. It is located in the so-called Paraje de San Isidro, a pine forest 1 kilometre from the town centre of Campo de Criptana, and can be reached by road or by the comfortable path parallel to the CM-3105 road, which runs from the town to the Sanctuary of Cristo de Villajos. This place is also home to the so-called Gardens of Santa María de la Cabeza.

The hill of the windmills immediately attracts attention, it is one of the hallmarks of La Mancha and an icon that we all link to the adventures of the “illustrious gentleman” who mistook the windmills for giants. The Wetlands Natural Trail enters the town and before reaching the center it turns to the left to visit the Cerro de la Paz, where the famous mills are located. In the 18th century there were 34 windmills, now there are 10 standing and three are original, the rest have been rebuilt or restored during the last century, each with its own name. Now they no longer fulfill the function for which they were built, they are history, legend and evocation, and an extraordinary place to enjoy the sunset on the endless horizon of La Mancha. The route goes down the hill, passes through the hill of the Nuestra Señora de Criptana hermitage and continues along favorable terrain towards the Pedro Muñoz lagoon complex, known as “Don Quixote Wetland”, with two new lagoons frequented by groups of ornithologists to observe birds and end point of the stage.

The old ones, Sardinero, Burleta and Infante; Sovereigns of time and stories, they have been standing since the 16th century, preserving their original mechanism. The moderns, the Inca Garcilaso, the Cariari, the Vicente Huidobro, the Pilón, the Lagarto, the Culebro and the Poyatos are immense young men from 1900.

Currently, the Molino Infante, the Burleta, the Culebro, which houses the Sara Montiel Museum, the Chimera, which houses the Museum on Holy Week in the town and the Poyatos Mill, currently a tourist information point, can be visited.