If you are into going out of the normal stuff and have imagination to spare I really recommend this castle. It's far away and you'll probably need a car to get there, but it's well worth it. It's an old medieval castle with four levels of fortifications. If you are into the knights Templar this is the place for you as it's one of the oldest Spanish Templar orders set in the middle of moor country. The drive is easy and impressive countryside and landscapes surrounds it. The driveway up to the castle is windy and although a pebbles road it is good. We arrived on a Tuesday at 3 pm and it's was closed but nevertheless we felt it was well worth the drive.

My husband is an archeologist, and his team has been working on scanning Calatrava la Vieja for digital heritage preservation. It is a stunning example of military fortifications in this area that date back to the 800's and played a pivotal role in the battles between the Moors and Christians throughout the 12th century. This was the home of the furthest outreach of the Knight's Templar, and was the birthplace of the Order of the Calatrava, an order of monks turned military knights, that replaced the Templars. If you love adventure explorations, I highly recommend spending time here in Castilla-La Mancha. Check out my travel blog for more details, travebugchele. It's a blogspot url address.