Village
Cañete, in the Serranía Baja (Cuenca), has 877 inhabitants (2025) at an altitude of 1,074 m, among peaks that rise above 1,300 and 1,400 metres, such as the Cabeza de Don Pedro, its highest point. Inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic and with Celtiberian settlements in its surroundings, the walls were built in their current form during the Muslim domination, around the 10th century, a great example of a fortified town in the peninsular Muslim style. Dominated by a castle of Andalusi origin on a steep hill and enclosed by that wall, reinforced in the Christian period, of which the Puerta de las Eras with its horseshoe arch is preserved, it was the birthplace, at the end of the 14th century, of Álvaro de Luna, Constable of Castile. In the municipal area is the Pozo de la Horca waterfall.
Monument
The castle of Cañete (Cuenca) is part of the walled precinct that crowned the former Andalusi town, a fortified city until its reconquest in 1117. It stands to the west of the precinct, on the rocky crest topping the hill of Cañete, overlooking the village, with 19th-century alterations from the Carlist Wars. It combines Romanesque elements with others of Arab influence and is considered one of the largest castles in Spain, though it retains no outstanding structures; inside, a building separating two enclosures has two low turrets.
Monument
The Andalusi walled enclosure of Cañete, reinforced in Christian times, whose Puerta de las Eras preserves a horseshoe arch from the Islamic period.
Monument
The parish church of Cañete, alongside the chapel of San Julián and the hermitage of the Virgen de la Zarza.
Nature
Waterfall in the municipality of Cañete, beside the Mayor del Molinillo river, below the Cabeza de Don Pedro (1,486 m). The Mayor del Molinillo river, which runs at the foot of this hill, belongs to the Cabriel basin and is the most important in the municipality's river network. The Cabeza de Don Pedro is also the highest point in Cañete, whose altitude ranges between those 1,486 metres and the 1,000 metres by the river itself, towards the south of the municipality.
Curiosity
Álvaro de Luna, Constable of Castile and favourite of Juan II, was born in Cañete in the late 14th century; he is buried in Toledo Cathedral.
Curiosity
The find, made in September 2015 by Manuel Abril Chillarón on the mound of El Cabezuelo, in Cañete, brought to light three megalithic steps that could belong to one of the earliest stepped pyramids located in Spain. Most experts interpret it as a 3rd-century BC Celtiberian oppidum, comparable in extent to that of El Ceremeño, situated like it on a river meander and in a defensive position. Its true nature remains a subject of academic debate.
Activity
La Alvarada de Cañete (Serranía Media-Campichuelo and Serranía Baja, Cuenca) is a newly created historical re-enactment, established in 1999, held on the first weekend of August, which recalls the figure of Álvaro de Luna, born in Cañete at the end of the 14th century, who became Constable of Castile.
Activity
The patronal festivities of Cañete in honour of Our Lady of la Zarza, the town's main festivities, are held from 7 to 12 September. On the 9th and 10th, the traditional bull encierros take place in the afternoon. The programme includes a procession with the town band, the reading of the proclamation that opens the festivities, and open-air dances that go on until dawn.
Activity
Traditional festival of Cañete in honour of young people reaching adulthood, held on the first weekend of February. It is an old tradition that was held in honour of the year's conscripts joining the army.
Food and drink
Purée of boiled potato crushed with shredded salt cod, raw garlic and olive oil, finished with hard-boiled egg and walnuts. A winter dish of the mountain towns, it was managed with larder products when the snow left the sierra roads cut off.