Tour Torcas and Lakes

Our Tour Torcas and Lakes is the best way to discover the unknown Karst region in Cuenca. If we talk about geology in Cuenca it´s impossible not to talk about Karst. Karst is a German word that comes from the Slovene Kras Region. Here they first discovered the geological process that gave name to this phenomenon, which means rocky terrain. In fact, this erosion only develops in limestone and dolomite rocks.

During this half-day itinerary we guide you through this Karst Region to discover two of the most important landscapes of this erosion near the City of Cuenca: Las Torcas de los Palancares and Las Lagunas de Cañada del Hoyo.

Las Torcas are sinkholes or collapse dolines (a depression formed by the collapse of the roof of a cave). The dimensions can vary from only a few meters in diameter up to hundreds of meters. The same occurs with the depth of the sinkholes. Normally they have an almost perfect circular shape. When they are filled by groundwater they are called Lagunas, without water Torcas.

We drive from Cuenca to the Pine forest of the Palancares region. There we´ll visit the amazing Torca del Lobo (Wolf Torca), only 15 minutes walking from the parking next to the forest road. You´ll be surprised by the beauty and the size of this Torca.

On our way to the Lagunas (Lakes) we make a little stop to embrace the Pino Abuelo (Grandfather Pine).

We continue to the amazing lakes, where we make a short hiking tour to visit the three Lagunas, each of them with a different color. If it is a sunny day, it´s possible to observe turtles taking a sunbathe. Bioculars are available for spotting the turtles and other animals in their natural habitat.