Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Cañaveras

What to see and do in Cañaveras (La Alcarria Conquense, Cuenca): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

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

When to go to Cañaveras: festival calendar

September: Festivities of la Virgen del Pinar (first Sunday of September)

Towns near Cañaveras

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Cuenca › La Alcarria Conquense › Cañaveras

What to see and do in Cañaveras

Cañaveras
Village
Municipality of the comarca of La Alcarria Conquense, in the province of Cuenca, which figures from 1183 within the territory organised to resettle the Alcarria after the conquest of Cuenca and which preserves on the hilltop the remains of a medieval fortress raised over an earlier Bronze Age settlement. Its district is presided over by the Cerro de la Virgen, the Morrón Blanco and the Alto de Perache, all around 950 metres, and in it stands the sixteenth-century chapel of the Virgen del Pinar, its patroness; the church of San Martín was built between 1550 and 1620, with a rectangular plan and ribbed vaults.
Church of San Martín de Cañaveras
Monument
The church of San Martín, dedicated to the bishop of Tours, is the main monument of Cañaveras, in the Alcarria Conquense. It was built between 1550 and approximately 1620, with a rectangular plan of very fine proportions; the first half of its vaults are ribbed, a solution that combines the Gothic tradition with the Renaissance taste typical of the period of its construction.
Hermitage of la Virgen del Pinar
Monument
The Virgen del Pinar hermitage crowns the mountain of the same name, at 950 metres of altitude and surrounded by pine forests, in Cañaveras. The original construction, single-naved with a beautiful dome, dates from the 16th century; rooms for the hermit and for the lodging of pilgrims were added later. According to tradition, the apparition of the Virgen took place in the year 1200. She is the patroness of the town and is celebrated on the first Sunday of September, with a nine-day novena, processions carrying the image on a litter, and communal meals. On the last Sunday of May the romería (pilgrimage) is held: in the past the Virgen was carried up on donkeys or mules, or on foot, and people ate in the pine forest.
The heights of Cañaveras
Nature
The municipal district is dominated by the Morrón Blanco (954 m), the Alto de Perache (953 m) and the Cerro de la Virgen (959 m), with the valley of the Merdanchel stream and numerous springs.
Festivities of la Virgen del Pinar
Activity
The festivities of the Virgen del Pinar, patroness of Cañaveras (La Alcarria Conquense, Cuenca), have their main feast day on the first Sunday of September, preceded by a nine-day novena during which the image is brought down from the hermitage in procession. During those days there are religious acts, open-air dances, fancy-dress contests, bullfighting events, fireworks, traditional games and a communal caldereta meal on the last day, before returning the image to the hermitage. On the last Sunday of May the romería (pilgrimage) of the Virgen del Pinar is also held, in which the Virgen used to be carried up on the backs of donkeys or mules, or on foot, and people ate in the pine forest.
The 1183 resettlement
Historical milestone
Cañaveras figures from 1183 within the territory that newly conquered Cuenca organised in order to repopulate the Alcarria. On the top of the hill remain traces of a medieval fortress raised over an earlier Bronze Age settlement.
Morteruelo
Food and drink
Warm pâté made with pig's liver and game meats — hare, partridge or rabbit — shredded and bound with breadcrumbs, paprika, clove and caraway. It is eaten spread on bread and is the emblematic dish of the cooking of Cuenca.