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Cuenca is an historical town about 250 miles inland from Dream Hills, in the general direction of Madrid. The town is divided into two parts. The old part of the town is built on a rocky outcrop which has two rivers running down either side of it, creating deep gorges. The town is famous because of its unique situation on the edge of a perpendicular precipice and it's hanging houses, which are built into the rock The modern part of the town stands at the foot of this rock. There are many web sites offering more photographs and information on Cuenca. These two for example: http://www.bamjam.net/Spain/Cuenca.html
http://www.travelinginspain.com/cuenca.htm
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The old part of Cuenca has narrow streets and a suspension footbridge over the gorge, which is not recommmended for those who do not like heights As Cuenca is about a 5 hour drive from Dream Hills we would recommend an overnight stop, or perhaps two nights. We used Cuenca as a base and went on to visit the Ciudad Encantada (Enchanted City), which is about 25 miles from Cuenca The Ciudad Encantada consists of strangely deformed rocks, each with their own name, like the Elephant, the Crocodile etc. The Ciudad Encantada is in a remote area, which can have snow in the winter months The trip from Cuenca to the Ciudad Encantada and back is an experience in itself, taking you along wonderful winding roads high up into the mountains.
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We stayed at the Posada de San Jose, which is in the centre of town. The entrance to the hotel is down a back street and is pictured on the right.
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We had one of the rooms that looked out over the ravine. Our bedroom window is indicated in the picture on the left It looks very old and a little decrepit from the outside, but it was very nice inside. There is more information and you can make a booking at one of the many web sites that carry more details of the hotel. For example: http://www.lanierbb.com/inns/wwbb1807.html If you are prepared to pay a little more, you could try the Parador (these are state owned hotels which have been monastries etc). In Cuenca the Parador is situated in the bottom of the gorge, right opposite our bedroom window: |
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