Village
Municipality of the Sierra Morena comarca, in the province of Ciudad Real, that grew up around mineral-medicinal water springs that gave it its name and feed its spa, next to the old Ermita de Santa María de los Baños. Within its territory lies the Abrigo de Peña Escrita, one of the most important groups of schematic rock art on the Peninsula, produced between the 3rd millennium BC and the Final Bronze Age and declared a Monumento Nacional (Spain's heritage designation in force until 1931) in 1924; news of it was first given in 1783 by the parish priest Francisco José López de Cárdenas, in the first documented record of rock art. The municipality lies within the Parque Natural del Valle de Alcudia y Sierra Madrona, declared in 2011.
Nature
A group of shelters with schematic rock paintings made between the 3rd millennium BC and the Late Bronze Age. It is one of the most important schematic art sites in the Iberian Peninsula and was declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (Spain's heritage designation in force between 1931 and 1985) in 1924.
Nature
A schematic rock art station in the Sierra Madrona area, with panels of human figures and geometric designs in reddish tones. It was declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (Spain's heritage designation in force between 1931 and 1985) together with Peña Escrita in 1924.
Monument
A museum facility devoted to explaining the ten sets of rock paintings catalogued in the municipal district. It serves as the starting point for guided visits to Peña Escrita and La Batanera.
Monument
A thermal establishment fed by the mineral-medicinal springs that gave the town its name. Its waters were declared of public utility and the town grew up around the old hermitage of Santa María de los Baños.
Nature
At some 1,323 metres it is the highest summit of Sierra Madrona and of the whole province of Ciudad Real. From its top it commands the Valle de Alcudia and much of Sierra Morena.
Nature
A waterfall on the River Cereceda, hemmed in between quartzite walls and surrounded by riverside vegetation. It is one of the most visited spots in Sierra Madrona, especially after the winter and spring rains.
Nature
A stretch of the River Cereceda where the water runs over slabs of slate forming natural pools used for bathing. It is a traditional summer recreation spot for the people of Fuencaliente.
Nature
The Valle de Alcudia y Sierra Madrona natural park, declared on 10 March 2011 over an area of almost 150,000 hectares spread across eight municipalities in southern Ciudad Real, combines the holm oak dehesas of the Valle de Alcudia, shaped by traditional livestock grazing, with the broken relief of Sierra Madrona, where holm oak, quejigo, cork oak and rebollo oak woods are preserved, along with a relict pine wood. It holds critical areas for the Spanish imperial eagle, the cinereous vulture, the black stork and the Iberian lynx, as well as wolf populations, and within its boundaries singular spaces are protected such as the Castillejos Volcánicos de la Bienvenida, the Laguna Volcánica de La Alberquilla, the Volcán de Alhorín and the Refugio de Quirópteros de Fuencaliente.
Nature
Quartzite rock formations that rise above the built-up area and act as a natural viewpoint over the village and the valley. It is one of the usual access points to the walking routes of Sierra Madrona.
Curiosity
In 1783 Francisco José López de Cárdenas, parish priest of Montoro, reported the paintings of Peña Escrita and La Batanera, considered the first documented record of rock art in the history of archaeological research.
Curiosity
Local tradition places the adventure of the fulling mills that Cervantes recounts in the first part of Don Quixote in the area of the River Cereceda, beside the old fulling mills. The place name La Batanera preserves the memory of that activity.
Activity
A winter festival in which two great bonfires are lit and the villagers smudge their faces with burnt cork. It is accompanied by a migas competition and by the religious celebration of La Candelaria.
Activity
A traditional betting game with two coins tossed into the air, played only on Good Friday. It is one of the few secular games authorised by tradition in Castilla-La Mancha.
Activity
Winter patronal festival in honour of San Sebastián, patron saint of Fuencaliente, held around 20 January with a procession and the distribution and blessing of bread among the residents, a custom maintained by the town council.
Activity
The romería of San Marcos is held in the hamlet of Ventillas, a district of Fuencaliente in Sierra Morena, on the weekend closest to 25 April. It is a rural romería with an open-air meal and religious events in honour of San Marcos.
Activity
The village's various groups and associations put up crosses decorated with natural flowers in the streets and courtyards of Fuencaliente, which are visited during the festival days. The tradition is held around the weekend closest to 3 May, the date on which residents create these floral ornaments.
Food and drink
The hills of Sierra Madrona are the territory of deer, wild boar and mouflon, and their meat reaches the table in calderetas, stews and marinades. The winter hunts mark the calendar and fill the rural guesthouses of the district with visitors.