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Place · Cuenca

El Hosquillo

El Hosquillo is the Serranía de Cuenca Natural Park's wildlife centre, in its namesake valley at the Escabas headwaters. It has fenced enclosures with animals in semi-freedom, including brown bears and wolves, an interpretation centre and a mammal museum. Visits require booking, reached by a turn-off 7.5 km from Las Majadas.

Pine forests and rock walls of the upper Escabas at El Hosquillo
El Hosquillo, in 1979. Photo: «Serranía de Cuenca 1979 39», LBM1948 (1979) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Municipality
Cuenca
  • El Hosquillo
  • Wildlife
  • Brown bear
  • Wolf
  • Natural Park
  • Escabas

An enclosed valley in Muela de la Madera

El Hosquillo lies in the Natural Park’s centre, in Muela de la Madera, in its namesake valley at the Escabas headwaters. It was created in the 1960s, and over a thousand hectares of woodland and ravines hold Iberian wildlife in semi-freedom: brown bears, wolves, red deer, fallow deer, wild goats, griffon vultures and other birds of prey.

Besides fenced enclosures it has an interpretation centre, with an audiovisual presentation and rooms of plants, rocks and wildlife, and a museum with scenes of mountain mammals, both game and protected species.

Plan your visit

Before you travel

Booking required: the calendar is on the centre website. Access follows the forest road from Las Majadas to Poyatos and Vega del Codorno, with a signposted turn-off 7.5 km from Las Majadas.

Combine with

The Peña del Reloj viewpoint, beside the park boundary, and Los Lagunillos.

Entrance to El Hosquillo park among trees
The entrance to El Hosquillo, in 1979. Photo: «Serranía de Cuenca 1979 25», LBM1948 (1979) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Railing of a viewpoint among trees at El Hosquillo
A viewpoint at El Hosquillo, in 1979. Photo: «Serranía de Cuenca 1979 27», LBM1948 (1979) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How is it visited?

Only by arranged visit: the calendar and bookings are on the centre website. It is accessible and welcomes school groups.

Which animals are there?

Iberian wildlife in semi-freedom: brown bears, wolves, red deer, fallow deer, wild goats, vultures and other birds of prey, among others.

Carry on from here

Lands and landscapes

From here, follow the memory of the land

These readings connect El Hosquillo with the stories, the work and the villages around it.

Where it is

Location of El Hosquillo Arcos de la SierraCañizaresCastillejo-SierraCuencaHuélamoLas MajadasPortillaPoyatosTragaceteVega del Codorno PNSC-S2: Los CallejonesPNSC-S9: Itinerario interpretativo del area recreativa de los LagunillosPR-CU 104: Sendero de la dehesa de los OlmosPR-CU 28: Ruta de las Fuentecillas y Los CallejonesPR-CU 29: Ceñajo de Los Calatrava, Peña Rubia y Las TorcasPR-CU 30: Ruta del Gollizno y Las CanterasPR-CU 7: Ruta del MasegarPR-CU 78: Subida a la MuelaPR-CU 79: San Blas - San Felipe - Río CuervoSL-CU 14: Nacimiento del río Cuervo TragaceteVega del CodornoLas MajadasPoyatosPeña del Reloj viewpointLos Lagunillos picnic areaFuente de la Tía Perra picnic areaBalcón de Pilatos viewpointAlto de la Vega picnic areaLas Librerías viewpointTragacete Visitor Reception CentreSource of the River Júcar
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: Tragacete · Vega del Codorno · Las Majadas · Poyatos.

Open the full map and its historical layers →

OpenStreetMap See it on the 1930s map

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