The Enchanted City of Cuenca: Off the beaten track Spain

Let’s get into the topic – off the beaten track Spain. There’s one place you simply can’t miss on the Iberian Peninsula – The Enchanted City of Cuenca. It is a magical forest full of stunning rock formations. If you´ve never heard of this place – put it on your travel bucket list right now!

Off The Beaten Track Spain

Where is The Enchanted City of Cuenca

Although The Spanish Province of Cuenca borders with a few well-known Spanish regions, like Madrid, Toledo, and Valencia, it is still “off the beaten track” Spain. Alongside Toledo, Guadalajara, Cuidad Real, and Albacete, Cuenca forms part of the Castile-La Mancha region in Central Spain.

Nowadays, you can easily reach the city of Cuenca from Madrid or Valencia by a high-speed train. If you travel by car you can also get to Cuenca from Teruel or Zaragoza. Check my Quick Cuenca Travel Guide here for more tips.

Also read: 10 dreamy Spanish castles you will definitely want to visit

However, in order to get to the Enchanted City of Cuenca (or La Cuidad Encantada in Spanish), public transport is not the best choice. Technically you can get to Cuenca´s Train Station and then take a taxi, but it will be quite pricey as there are more or less 40 mins of driving (28km). The perks of off the beaten track Spain…

Family Travel

Nevertheless, The Enchanted City of Cuenca absolutely deserves a visit as it is one of the top fairytale places in Spain that are straight out of the Storybook. I find it particularly interesting for Family travel (there´s even a mystical Spanish legend behind it) despite the fact that this place is not fully adopted for baby strollers.

Cuenca was our first weekend getaway with a 2-months-old baby and we opted for a baby carrier. However, a few local Spanish families we clearly visiting with their strollers. But again – there are several areas with stairs around the Enchanted City of Cuenca.

Also read: The Impressive Game of Thrones Filming Locations in Spain

The route isn´t too long (about 1.7 km), so we didn’t get tired from carrying our baby girl around. But I wish they´d make The Enchanted City of Cuenca more accessible for everyone.

Exploring The Enchanted City of Cuenca

The Enchanted City of Cuenca is such a natural phenomenon. By and large, it is a circular route full of impressive rock formations, sculpted over the centuries by ice, wind, and water. Once you get your tickets, you´ll be given a small map with the main things to see.

We drove to The Enchanted City of Cuenca early in the morning and were ones of the first visitors.

Also read: Must-See Magical Forests in Spain

Therefore, my first naive thought, once we got in, was “wow, no one here! we´ll be able to explore the place for ourselves”. And we did – for 15 min. Even though Enchanted City is still off the beaten track Spain for the international visitors, it is quite popular among the local Spanish families. Especially on weekends or holidays. So, on our way back we already noticed a line to access the park.

If visiting, make sure to go earlier in the morning: it might actually add some magic to your route. There was such a difference between wandering around all alone and being surrounded by loud crowd of visitors on our way back.

Liberating your imagination

A walk through the Enchanted City really felt like something supernatural, other-worldly. Especially because all the rock figures looked like humans, objects or animals … Mother Nature is definitely the best decorator on Earth.

Also read: Otherworldly Landscapes in Spain

All the top sights in the Enchanted City of Cuenca go by their own names. There are around 13 main stops on the route – this is where you let go of normal directed thinking and liberate your imagination. You can find anything from “A fight between an elephant and a crocodile” to The lovers of Teruel.

You can scroll down the photo gallery from this trip to spot some out-of-this-world locations.

Photo Gallery

• 10 secret villages in Spain you´ve never heard of
• The ultimate Wild West Town experience in Spain: Theme Parks in Almeria
• An Oasis of Greenery: Lagunas De Ruidera natural park
• When Mountains Call You: 5 Must-See in Huesca, Spain

For more travel inspiration on Spain check my Pinterest board Travel to Spain. If you want more hidden gems, make sure you explore my blog section Undiscovered Spain.

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