Logbook · 11 places

What to see and do in Ayna

What to see and do in Ayna (Sierra del Segura, Albacete): 11 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 3 Nature · 2 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

When to go to Ayna: festival calendar

September: Festivities of la Virgen de lo Alto (Del 4 al 8 de septiembre)

How far each place is from the centre of Ayna

Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios de Ayna 350 m
Cave of el Niño 7.4 km

Towns near Ayna

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What to see in Bogarra 13 km · 11 places
What to see in Alcadozo 13 km · 7 places
What to see in Molinicos 18 km · 11 places
What to see in Peñas de San Pedro 20 km · 11 places
What to see in Letur 21 km · 14 places
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Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Albacete › Sierra del Segura › Ayna

What to see and do in Ayna

Ayna
Village
Municipality of the comarca of Sierra del Segura, in the province of Albacete, wedged into the valley of the river Mundo beneath rocky crags contemplated from the Mirador del Diablo; its name comes from the Arabic ayn, spring or source, and in 1565 it bought the privilege of town status to break away from Alcaraz. In its district is the Cueva del Niño, a shelter that brings together Palaeolithic paintings and Levantine art and included in the World Heritage listing since 1998, and a signposted route runs through the locations where the film Amanece, que no es poco was shot.
Church of Santa María de lo Alto
Monument
The parish church of Ayna, presiding over the village that hangs above the valley of the River Mundo and holding the image of the town's patron saint.
Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios de Ayna
Monument
A hermitage in the municipal district of Ayna, one of the municipality's traditional places of devotion along with the sanctuary of the Cristo de las Cabrillas.
Castle of la Yedra
Monument
The castle of la Yedra consists of the ruins of a medieval fortress that watched over the passage of the río Mundo through the Ayna gorge (Sierra del Segura, Albacete). Today gone as a structure, only remains survive, which are listed among the municipality's places of interest; from a more recent period there is record of battles fought there during the Reconquista.
Cave of el Niño
Nature
An exceptional rock shelter on the hill between the Albarda and Halcón peaks, on the right bank of the río Mundo, deep in the Sierra de Alcaraz, combining Paleolithic paintings of deer and goats with later Levantine art, an uncommon combination and one of the few sites with Paleolithic cave art in the whole Meseta. It opens on the northwest face of the Barranco del Infierno, where the río Mundo carves a canyon through Jurassic limestone surrounded by pine forests and Mediterranean scrubland. It was discovered on 1 May 1970 and published in 1971 by archaeologist Martín Almagro Gorbea; in 1973 it was studied by a joint team from the universities of Cambridge and London. It is included in the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Arc, declared a World Heritage Site in 1998.
Viewpoint of el Diablo
Nature
A natural balcony overlooking the deep valley of the River Mundo, from which the white houses of Ayna can be seen at the foot of the rocky cliffs. Iberian ibex are often spotted nearby.
Cliffs of the Río Mundo in Ayna
Nature
The great rock walls that hem in the River Mundo as it passes through Ayna and that have earned the municipality the nickname of the Manchegan Switzerland.
Trail of Amanece, que no es poco
Activity
A signposted route through the settings where José Luis Cuerda filmed Amanece, que no es poco in 1988, his first feature film, set in his home region and today a cult film. Filming was spread between Aýna, Liétor and Molinicos, in the Albacete part of the Sierra del Segura, whose popular character inspired the script; many residents of these villages took part as extras. On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of its release, the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha set up this route to showcase the real locations, whose narrow streets were immortalised forever in the script. Despite not being a great box-office success at the time, with just over 306,000 viewers, the film continues to captivate generations who had not yet been born when it was released.
Festivities of la Virgen de lo Alto
Activity
The festivities of the Virgin of lo Alto are the main festivities of Ayna (Sierra del Segura, Albacete), in honour of its patron saint, the Virgin Mary of lo Alto. They are held every year from 4 to 8 September and are famous for their spectacular encierros (bull runs), which take place through the steep, narrow streets of the town.
Ayna, the spring that gave the village its name
Curiosity
The place name comes from the Arabic ayn, spring or fountain. The town was reconquered by Alfonso VIII in 1213 and obtained the title of independent villa by a privilege of Felipe II in 1565.
The town charter of Ayna
Historical milestone
Ayna bought its privilege of villa status in 1565 and broke away from the alfoz of Alcaraz, to which it had belonged since the conquest. It was one of the emancipations that the Habsburgs sold to finance their European campaigns.