The 'Universal Mountains' are the heart of Spain, the watershed from which spring rivers that flow to the seas that surround the peninsula. Of all Spanish regions this remote corner of Castile symbolizes the links of the ruling central cities with the outside world. From here the Júcar meanders south and east to the Mediterranean, whilst just a few miles away the Tagus begins its long journey west to Toledo and Lisbon and the open ocean.

This wild and beautiful region is as isolated as any in Europe, a vast spread of mountains that envelopes whole provinces, cut deeply by the rivers it spawns. Great pine forests and open grassy meadows, filled with wildlife, are punctuated by deep crumbling gorges with chaotic falls of rock. The wilderness seems endless, the little mountain villages come as a surprise amongst all this crude nature; yet Man has lived here for many millenia in rock shelters, stone villages and ancient towns. Albarracín is as near to a Moorish town as Spain can boast; Cuenca remains one of the undiscovered jewels of Castile.