La Mancha Traditions: Cheese, Windmills, and Red Gold

Activities of the Day

✓ Visit an artisan cheese dairy and enjoy a vertical tasting of Manchego cheese.
✓ Guided tour of Villanueva de los Infantes.
✓ Lunch in Campo de Criptana, surrounded by iconic windmills.
✓ Visit an organic saffron workshop and learn about its cultivation, harvesting, and culinary uses.

La Mancha Traditions: Cheese, Windmills, and Red Gold

We begin the day journeying into the land of giants, renowned for its iconic windmills and the legendary adventures of Don Quixote. Along the way, you will visit a 10th century castle and the majestic windmills of Consuegra before stopping at an organic saffron workshop, where a local family of producers will reveal the secrets behind the region’s prized “Red Gold.”

We then meet Laura and her family, who welcome us into their organic saffron workshop. Here, we discover the cultivation, harvesting, and rich history of saffron—a treasured tradition passed down through generations.

For lunch, we travel to Campo de Criptana, where the famous windmills that inspired Cervantes dominate the landscape. In this extraordinary setting, we enjoy a traditional Manchegan menu at a restaurant offering spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.