Stage 11: Buenache de Alarcón - Alarcón

Starting from the centre of Buenache, the route starts off along Calle Isabel I de Castilla, heading west until it reaches the shrine of San Isidro, a simple church in the centre of the town. The route then turns south, reaching the CM-2100 road. You have to walk alongside the road for about 100 m and, although it is not particularly dangerous as it is a stretch of urban road with good verges and a zebra crossing, caution should be exercised.

Leave the road along a dirt track on the right, heading south. The trail then enters an agricultural landscape of cereal crops, with some farms planted with fruit trees, for the next 2 km. When you reach a crossroads, continue along the path to the right towards the south, which, after passing by a small pine forest, returns to the cultivated landscape, although this time the trees, together with some vineyards, outnumber the cereals in terms of surface area.

The route approaches the reservoir, without reaching the shore, although the sheet of water will almost always be visible when looking to the right of the path. You leave behind you various junctions with other minor tracks that should be avoided, until, after a little over 3 km, the path changes direction, heading north-east. In the distance, on one of the hills in the background, you can make out the tower of an optical telegraph that belonged to the same line as the one at Valverde de Júcar (Stage 9-10).

The trail reaches the CM-2100 road and runs parallel to it, on the left-hand side, for some 200 m, so remember the rules of the road! I then leaves the asphalt when it reaches the Cañada fountain. The route now heads in a southerly direction, following the banks of the reservoir. A sign warns us that this area may be flooded, so it is important to check the water levels before you start walking through it.

The path runs alongside the reservoir, with the water on our right-hand side and vegetation with pines and Mediterranean scrubland on our left. After approximately 3.5 km you reach a turn-off leading to Olmedilla de Alarcón, but the path continues alongside the reservoir. With the same type of landscape as in the previous section, after almost 4 km you reach, a very particular structure, a small stone semicircle with a column in the centre that was built in 2010 in memory of Gascas, a town that was flooded by the waters of the Alarcón reservoir.

The route leads away from the reservoir and returns to an almost exclusively agricultural landscape of surrounding farms. Leaving other different paths behind us, it finally leads to another dirt track. Olmedilla can be reached again on the left, although the path continues on the right. After passing by a solar farm, the path climbs slightly and enters a wooded area. This landscape will last no longer than a kilometre and a half or so before we see the Alarcón reservoir dam among the trees.

Returning to the agricultural landscape, you walk through farmland, past some rural accommodation buildings and reach a paved walkway through pine trees, leading to the N-III road. Cross the road carefully as despite good visibility, vehicles may speed. On the other side of the N-III, take a dirt track that leads to the road that runs towards Alarcón. Before reaching the road, the path turns off to the right onto a footpath that descends, protected by wooden fences, down a ravine to reach the canyon of the river Júcar. The descent leaves beautiful panoramic views of the monumental Villa de Alarcón and the Torre de los Alarconcillos and when you reach the river you can take advantage of the wooden benches installed to take a break and enjoy the view.

The path continues along the river's edge and reaches the Henchidero dam and the old installations of its hydroelectric power station. The dirt track becomes an asphalt path (and is once again has shared with traffic) as the route begins the ascent towards Alarcón. This path follows the meander on which Alarcón is situated. Passing the Tébar bridge (originally a medieval infrastructure but modified in later centuries), which offers access to the tower of Alarconcillos or the tower of Cañavete, we enter a pine forest and pass under one of the old entrance gates to the walled complex, the so-called Puerta del río or River Gate.

The stage ends as we complete the climb, next to a car park and the street leading down to the cemetery, but we recommend travellers take a stroll through the streets of Alarcón and discover the historical heritage of this town that still retains a medieval air.