Virgen de la Bienvenida Chapel

Virgen de la Bienvenida Chapel

The hermitage of the Virgen de la Bienvenida is located in the beautiful village of El Recuenco, located right on the borders of the provinces of Cuenca and GuadalajaraMore specifically, between the Serranía de Cuenca and the Alto Tajo Natural Park, two of the great natural areas of Castilla-La Mancha, although more than Serranía, we would have to say Alcarria, a region shared by both provinces with very special peculiarities.

Specifically, it separates the towns of Alcantud and El Recuenco de Vindel and Peralveche, a little further away, but on the other side of the Sierra de la Bienvenida.

Its location is more than enviable, on the top of a high plateau in the form of a "muela", at the top of a small mountain range, dominating the entire valley of the  river AlcantudThe river, which is responsible for irrigating these lands, from its source in the vicinity of The Recuencobefore flowing into the Guadiela River.

The hermitage itself stands out, apart from its location, for its size, large, very large for the size of the surrounding villages, a fact that is not yet clear why. Nowadays it is well preserved and every year, on the 8th of September, it receives the pilgrimage with the celebration of a mass, which the neighbours of El Recuenco give to their patron saint, the Virgen de la Bienvenida, dweller of this hermitage.

On the same September afternoon, another festivity is also celebrated, this time a pagan one, the Almoneda, where people drink sangria and eat doughnuts.

As far as the landscape is concerned, it is worth mentioning the views that can be enjoyed from here. We are on an elevation, so the horizon here gives us a perfect panoramic view, and we can see very clearly the Tetas de Viana Natural Monument and the smoking chimneys of the Trillo nuclear power plant.

Undoubtedly a place to enjoy the fresh air, the tranquillity and the immensity of the surrounding nature, in addition, given the peace that is breathed in all these small towns, any day at any time is a good time to enjoy its fauna, being the birdwatchers some of the luckiest, as they can count on a multitude of forest birds and birds of prey in this environment.

<< How to get there?

To get to the hermitage, take the dirt track that starts between kilometres 33 and 34 of the CM-2108. If you are coming from El Recuenco, the road will be on your left, and once on it you only have to continue for about 6 kilometres on a wide track in good condition until you reach the esplanade and almost the edge of the hill where the Ermita de la Virgen de la Bienvenida Hermitage is located.

Another option, this one only for the more adventurous, is to climb from the centre of the village up the Hocino ravine to the top of the muela, a much more direct but dangerous route, as there are no signposts.