Most people drive past this bit of Spain without knowing it’s there. Between Cuenca and Molina de Aragón, the land folds in on itself. Pines, cliffs, water the colour of glass. The locals call it quiet country. They’re right.
We started at Puente de San Pedro, the small bridge that crosses the River Tajo. There’s a car park, a picnic table that’s seen better days, and the sound of the river echoing between cliffs. A couple of anglers were already set up when we arrived, their buckets full of stories and not much else.
The path follows the right bank upstream, sometimes close enough to touch the water, sometimes climbing through pines where the smell of resin takes over. Every so often the canyon opens wide and you can see how far the river has cut. Vultures trace slow circles above it all.
After about an hour the sound of falling water starts. That’s Salto de Poveda, a tufa waterfall that looks almost too neat to be real. A wooden walkway crosses the lip of the old hydro dam, and spray cools the air. If you stop there and turn around, it feels like a full day already.
We carried on, climbing to the Laguna de Taravilla. The track twists through pine shade before the lake appears all at once — pale green, rimmed with reeds. A small sign says swimming’s not forbidden but not encouraged either. A couple of locals were ignoring that and doing slow lengths across the middle. Patricia dipped her hands in and said it felt like Ireland. Cold but alive.
Lunch was bread, cheese, and the last of the thermos coffee. A dragonfly landed on the map, which seemed about as much navigation as we needed. On the far side of the lagoon, a family was barbecuing, the smell of chorizo drifting through the pines.
The return path loops higher, giving balcony views over the gorge. The colour changes with every bend — silver, turquoise, olive. It’s hard to take a bad photo here, but it’s also the kind of place where you forget to bother.
Back at Puente de San Pedro the anglers were packing up. Still no fish. One of them asked if we’d seen the laguna. When we said yes he nodded once, as if that proved something.
Alto Tajo isn’t dramatic like the Pyrenees or big like Cazorla. It’s quiet, self-contained, easy to underestimate. You leave with pine dust on your boots and the sound of water that takes a long time to stop ringing in your head.
Route notes
- Distance: roughly 16 km round trip
- Ascent: about 450 m
- Time: 5 hours with breaks
- Water: along the river only
- Season: spring or autumn, avoid the July heat
- Base: Peralejos de las Truchas or Poveda de la Sierra