Cuenca Things to Do Tips by easyoar Top 5 Page for this destination

El Ventano del Diablo

El Ventano del Diablo means the Devil's Window. If you drive back to Cuenca from the Enchanted City you will go past this. It's worth stopping off a few minutes to walk down to it.

It is roughly comparable to Double Arch in Arches National Park in the USA (which you can see at the beginning of the third Indiana Jones film). In other words it is a couple of natural arches formed out of rock that are joined together to form a more complex structure (see the photo if this is not clear!)

The Gorge between the parador and the Old City

There is a very steep and deep gorge between the old city of Cuenca and the Parador. The view from this point shows why the Parador would have made a good Convent/Monastery, as it must have been very isolated.

To see this view, climb up the hill from the Plaza Mayor, and keep looking out to your right until you find it!

Cuenca has some steep slopes, and this is one of them, but the views are worth it!

Just in case you are wondering, the Parador is on the left hand side as you view the picture.

The Cathedral by night

The Cathedral is also extremely well illuminated at night. It takes up a large chunk of one side of the Plaza Mayor in Cuenca. The two unusual 'windows', which are actually holes straight through the building (see the picture!) can be seen here with the night sky behind them.

I am not sure if the 'windows' in the front are actually there as the front facade is unfinished, or are just unusual design, I suspect the former! The cathedral is built on the side of a slope, and has higher walls on the right hand side (as you view it from the Plaza), than it does on the left.

Cuenca from the Parador at night

Cuenca gets well illuminated at night, and the Casas Colgadas and the whole of that side of the old city get very well lit. They make for a great photo from the footbridge provided it isn't shaking in the wind too much!

You may wish to use a tripod to prevent camer shake, but remember a tripod is no good if the thing it is standing on (i.e. the bridge) is shaking too!

The Town Hall in the Plaza Mayor

The Town Hall is at the lowest end of the Plaza Mayor. It probably looks better from across the square than it does close up! The Central arch is where all the traffic comes up into the old part of the city, so you will probably have driven through it if you have driven to Cuenca.

It is worth noting the traffic police that lurk around here ticketing cars that don't park legally!

Plaza Mayor - Cuenca

This is the Plaza Mayor in Cuenca. It is a reasonably small Plaza for a city, and it is one of the few I have seen that slopes fairly dramatically. There are small shops and cafes around the outside where you can by souvenirs, honey, sandwiches and drinks etc.

It doesn't take long to explore, but it is worth having a browse around. Most people will enter from the bottom end, through an archway that is part of the town hall. There are parking restrictions in this area, so watch out for the police who are watching out for illegal parking!

View from El Ventano del Diablo

Not only is the Devil's Window a pretty spectacular rock formation, but the view from there is also very good. You can look down into a gorge that has been cut away by the river over a very long time period.

This picture shows the view down to the river, and two 'scars' in the earth are visible which are a couple of paths.

The landscape around Cuenca is a lot like this - very rocky abd pretty barren, but with quite a bit of charm.

Ciudad Encantada - Los Amantes de Teruel

This is the last one - honest!

As Rolf Harris would say, "Can you see what it is yet"? (Apologies if you have no idea who he is! - he's an artist who draws abstract pictures live on the telly)

This one is supposed to be the lovers from Teruel (Teruel is a town in Spain). I have no idea why the come from Teruel, but it is possible to see two people in profile looking as if they are about to have a passionate kiss!

Once you've seen this one, you will walk out past El Tormo Alto.

Ciudad Encantada - El Tortuga

Can you see a tortoise here? I can, but if I had been told it was an eagle too, I think I could see one of those in there too.

The head is in the top right hand side of the picture, and the shell to the left of it. Well that's what it looks like to me!

We were getting very cold by this point, as Cuenca is pretty high, and the weather was pretty cold and it had taken us a few hours to walk around the park, so I think some of our interest had gone by this point!

Directions: From Cuenca, take the CU-912, before turning northeast onto the CU-913. The Ciudad Encantada will then be signposted. It is not difficult to find.

Ciudad Encantada - El Teatro

This one is more obsure. It makes a pretty good bridge, but it is supposed to be a Theatre. There doesn't appear to be any stage or any curtains (unless the pine trees are supposed to be helping out here).

I think the theatre is supposed to be just the outline of the curtain/backdrop that you would see if you were at the theatre.

Anyhow this is one of the last sights that you will see in the Enchanted City - only a couple more to go!

Directions: From Cuenca, take the CU-912, before turning northeast onto the CU-913. The Ciudad Encantada will then be signposted. It is not difficult to find.