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Geosite · Cuenca

Ciudad Encantada de Cuenca

Cuenca's Ciudad Encantada is one of Spain's best-known karst landscapes: a maze of Mesozoic limestone fractured and dissolved by water, wind and ice into stone silhouettes between 1,340 and 1,410 metres. Declared a Natural Site of National Interest in 1929, it is now within the Natural Park. It lies between Uña and Villalba de la Sierra.

Hammer-shaped rock among pines in the Ciudad Encantada
A rock of the Ciudad Encantada, in 2015. Photo: «Ciudad Encantada - Martillo», Rafa Esteve (2015) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Municipality
Cuenca
  • Karst
  • Ciudad Encantada
  • Geosite
  • Natural Site of National Interest
  • Limestone

A stone city

Ciudad Encantada, the “Enchanted City” rock formations, is one of Spain’s major karst landscapes. Its rock is Mesozoic limestone, heavily folded and broken by earth movements. Along the cracks, water dissolved stone unevenly, leaving countless forms, many resembling human figures. The surrounding area covers about 20 km², and the site of geological interest 95 hectares, between 1,340 and 1,410 metres.

Portuguese oaks, Spanish junipers, common junipers and box grow among the rocks, scented with rosemary, thyme and marjoram. Grazing continues: sheep bells can be heard.

Protection

A Natural Site of National Interest since 1929, it now lies within the Serranía de Cuenca Natural Park. It appears in the global inventory of sites of geological interest.

Plan your visit

It lies in the Júcar canyon between Uña and Villalba de la Sierra, beside the CM-2104 around km 19.

Before you travel

Check opening times, prices and rules before going. Slender rock forms break easily: do not climb them or write on the rock.

Combine with

Torcas de los Palancares show the same karst from below, in collapse sinkholes. Another, less-known stone city is El Tormagal in Masegosa.

Rock slabs and pines in the sea of stones of the Ciudad Encantada
The sea of stones of the Ciudad Encantada. Photo: «Ciudad Encantada - Mar de Piedras 1», Rafa Esteve (2015) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Limestone slabs beside a pine in the Ciudad Encantada
Limestone and pines of the Ciudad Encantada. Photo: «Ciudad Encantada - Mar de Piedras 2», Rafa Esteve (2015) · CC BY-SA 4.0

From the archive

A man with pack animals stops before the rocks of the Ciudad Encantada.
A man with his pack animals before the rocks of the Ciudad Encantada. Between 1900 and 1950, according to the archive. Photo: «Cuenca. Valdecabras. Ciudad encantada, cretáceo. Calizas», Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco · Archivo fotográfico Hernández-Pacheco, Biblioteca Histórica de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, BH FOT HP 0735 · CC BY 4.0
An aerial view shows the rock formations of the Ciudad Encantada.
The Ciudad Encantada seen from the air. Between 1900 and 1950, according to the archive. Photo: «La Ciudad Encantada. (Cuenca). Vista aérea», Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco · Archivo fotográfico Hernández-Pacheco, Biblioteca Histórica de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, BH FOT HP 0738 · CC BY 4.0
A large rock with a narrow base rises above the vegetation of the Ciudad Encantada.
The Canto de la Maza, as the archive titles it, in the Ciudad Encantada. Between 1900 and 1950, according to the archive. Photo: «CUENCA. Valdecabras. Canto de La Maza. Ciudad Encantada», Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco · Archivo fotográfico Hernández-Pacheco, Biblioteca Histórica de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, BH FOT HP 0732 · CC BY 4.0
Two men pose on a narrow-based rock formation in the Ciudad Encantada.
Two men on a narrow-based rock in the Ciudad Encantada. The original plate, in English, speaks of eroded gypsum; the rocks of the Ciudad Encantada are limestone. Between 1900 and 1950, according to the archive. Photo: «25245. S.III. FORMS DUE TO ERODED GYPSUM NEAR CUENCA, SPAIN», Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco · Archivo fotográfico Hernández-Pacheco, Biblioteca Histórica de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, BH FOT HP 0733 · CC BY 4.0
Pines and rock formations mingle in the Ciudad Encantada.
Pines and rocks in the Ciudad Encantada. Between 1900 and 1950, according to the archive. Photo: «CUENCA. Valdecabras. Ciudad Encantada», Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco · Archivo fotográfico Hernández-Pacheco, Biblioteca Histórica de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, BH FOT HP 0734 · CC BY 4.0
Two men stand beside the great rocks of the Ciudad Encantada.
Two men beside the great rocks of the Ciudad Encantada. Between 1900 and 1950, according to the archive. Photo: «Cuenca. Ciudad encantada. Valdecabras», Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco · Archivo fotográfico Hernández-Pacheco, Biblioteca Histórica de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, BH FOT HP 0736 · CC BY 4.0
A man poses at the foot of a great rock formation in the Ciudad Encantada.
A man at the foot of a great rock in the Ciudad Encantada. Between 1900 and 1950, according to the archive. Photo: «Ciudad Encantada (Cuenca)», Eduardo Hernández-Pacheco · Archivo fotográfico Hernández-Pacheco, Biblioteca Histórica de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, BH FOT HP 0739 · CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Ciudad Encantada form?

Highly folded and fractured Mesozoic limestone. Differential dissolution, aided by fracturing, has produced many forms, some resembling humans, making a ruin-like landscape known as a stone city.

When was it protected?

It became a Natural Site of National Interest in 1929 and was included in the Serranía de Cuenca Natural Park, declared in 2007.

Where is it?

In the Júcar canyon between Uña and Villalba de la Sierra, at almost 1,500 m, beside the CM-2104 around km 19, within Valdecabras. IGME gives altitudes between 1,340 and 1,410 m.

Carry on from here

Lands and landscapes

From here, follow the memory of the land

These readings connect Ciudad Encantada de Cuenca with the stories, the work and the villages around it.

This place through time

Which eras you can read here

A single place can keep traces of several periods. These layers connect what you see with the atlas's stories.

Where it is

Location of Ciudad Encantada de Cuenca Buenache de la SierraCuencaLas MajadasMarianaPortillaUñaVillalba de la SierraZarzuelaSotorribas PNSC-S2: Los CallejonesPR-CU 108: Monteagudillo y el embalse de la TobaPR-CU 109: Vuelta a la ModorraPR-CU 24: Ruta del cerro Calera y Los VallejosPR-CU 28: Ruta de las Fuentecillas y Los CallejonesPR-CU 30: Ruta del Gollizno y Las CanterasPR-CU 33: Ruta de la Piedra YunquePR-CU 35: Sendero de Los CeñosPR-CU 37: Sendero del Escalerón y La Raya UñaVillalba de la SierraBuenache de la SierraUña viewpointTravertino viewpoint, UñaUña Visitor Reception CentreLaguna de Uña viewpointLaguna de UñaPiedra YunqueRefrentón viewpointFuente del Arenazo picnic area
Municipal boundaries: © IGN (CC BY 4.0). Route lines: simplified official tracks; source and GPX on each page. Approximate position (area).

● Reference point · ● Villages · ● Places · ━ Routes nearby

Location sketch. The map with paths and names loads as you scroll to it.

Reference villages: Uña · Villalba de la Sierra · Buenache de la Sierra · Las Majadas.

Open the full map and its historical layers →

OpenStreetMap See it on the 1930s map

Where the data on this page come from
Name
Location
Municipality (INE code)

«Source consulted»: the primary source has been read. «Reference located»: the source has been identified but not yet read. «Open question»: the figure needs confirmation.