Logbook · 12 places

What to see and do in Almuradiel

What to see and do in Almuradiel (Sierra Morena, Ciudad Real): 12 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 2 Nature · 2 Activities · 4 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

When to go to Almuradiel: festival calendar

May: Pilgrimage of San Isidro (14 y 15 de mayo)
December: Festival of la Inmaculada Concepción (December 8)

How far each place is from the centre of Almuradiel

Church of la Purísima Concepción 200 m
Venta de Cárdenas 11 km

Towns near Almuradiel

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Ciudad Real › Sierra Morena › Almuradiel

What to see and do in Almuradiel

Almuradiel
Village
Municipality of the comarca of Sierra Morena, in the province of Ciudad Real, founded on 16 February 1781 as Concepción de Almuradiel within the plan of New Settlements of Sierra Morena, with an original core of 32 houses lined up beside the new royal road to Andalusia that the engineer Carlos Lemaur was then tracing through Despeñaperros. That same year the district was divided into lots to be shared out among the settlers; its church of la Purísima Concepción, raised with the founding of the village, is a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection), and at the mouth of the defile lies its hamlet of Venta de Cárdenas.
Church of la Purísima Concepción
Monument
A parish church raised with the founding of the village in 1781, listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) and with a notable set of sculptures. It reflects the devotion to the Immaculate Conception promoted by Carlos III.
A colony of Carlos III
Curiosity
The village was founded on 16 February 1781 under the name Concepción de Almuradiel, as part of the plan for the New Settlements of Sierra Morena. Its original core consisted of 32 houses lined up along the royal road.
The Camino Real (Royal Road) of Andalusia
Curiosity
In 1779 the French engineer Carlos Lemaur began the new royal road linking Madrid with Andalusia, completing the Despeñaperros stretch in 1780. Almuradiel came into being precisely to serve and secure that route.
The place name of El Muradal
Curiosity
The name comes from Arabic and refers to El Muradal, the historic Sierra Morena mountain pass through which the Christian armies crossed on their way to the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
Venta de Cárdenas
Curiosity
A hamlet of Almuradiel situated at the gateway to the Despeñaperros gorge, on the boundary between Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia. Its name recalls the old roadside inns that once lined the pass. It also gives its name to a railway halt, opened in 1865 with the stretch that aimed to link Manzanares with Córdoba, today part of the Alcázar de San Juan-Cádiz line; electrified since 1957, it no longer offers passenger service and is used only for siding and train crossings on this single-track stretch.
Mountain range of el Sotillo
Nature
The Sierra del Sotillo rises in the southeast of the municipal territory of Almuradiel, in the Sierra Morena, and reaches 952 metres in altitude, compared with the roughly 690 metres of the terrain near the rivers. Its slopes, of irregular, mountainous relief, are covered with pine woods, cork oak groves, holm oaks and rockrose scrub, and serve as a hunting reserve for partridge, rabbit, wild goat, deer, wild boar and woodpigeon in summer.
Magaña River
Nature
A watercourse that crosses the south of the municipal district before joining other mountain streams, with riverside vegetation in a setting of Mediterranean scrub.
Festival of la Inmaculada Concepción
Activity
The feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated in Almuradiel every 8 December in honour of the town's patron saint, and it is the most important celebration of the year. The image of the Virgin passes through the streets in procession, carried by the cuadrilla de Portadores de la Purísima, while the town's hunters fire salvoes to the cry of: "Long live la Purísima!"
Pilgrimage of San Isidro
Activity
The saint, San Isidro Labrador, is carried in procession on 14 May through the streets of the town, and the following day, 15 May, he is brought down to his hermitage in Almuradiel, where the pilgrimage is celebrated with the traditional migas manchegas as the main dish.
The 1781 land-lot distribution
Historical milestone
In April 1781 the administrator Joaquín Canet divided the district of the new colony into fifty-five lots, later increased to sixty-three, to share them out among the colonists who had come to settle the sierra road.
Manchegan pisto
Food and drink
Slow fry-up of tomato, pepper, onion and courgette that was kept in earthenware jars for the winter and is eaten on its own, with egg or with pork loin. It appears on the tables of Almuradiel and of the whole comarca during the market garden months.