La Muela Castle, with a guided tour

La Muela castle occupies the summit of Calderico hill, the same hill that carries the row of windmills, and you see it from the village as soon as you arrive by road. The interior is always visited with a tourist guide, and the ticket includes entry to the Bolero windmill: castle and windmill share one ticket.

From the caliphate to the priors of St John

There was a pre-Roman hill fort on the hill. The fortress you see began as a Muslim work of the 10th century, in the time of the Caliphate of Córdoba. After the Christian conquest it was rebuilt and enlarged by the Order of St John of Jerusalem, the Order of Malta, and its Grand Priors were lords of the castle from 1183 until Napoleon's troops arrived in 1809. Beneath its walls the battle of Consuegra was fought in 1097 between Castilians and Almoravids, in which Diego Rodríguez, the only son of El Cid, died. Fernando de Toledo, lord of the castle in 1571, was at Lepanto; and the fortress served as a prison for Fernando de Valenzuela, locked up here by Juan José of Austria.

What you see inside

It is a hilltop castle with a triple defensive enclosure and a keep. The visit takes in the wall walk, the parade grounds, the underground cisterns and the order's chapter house. From the terraces and the towers you see the plain of La Mancha open in all directions and the line of windmills on Calderico hill at your feet: it is the photo you cannot get from below.

Allow an hour for the castle and the Bolero.

Hours, tickets and when not to go

It is open Monday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 18:00. It closes on 24, 25 and 31 December 2026 and 1 and 6 January 2027. The guided visit with entry to the Bolero costs €9 for adults and €4.50 for ages 7 to 14; up to age 6, free. Tickets are bought online on the platform linked by the Town Hall or at the monument itself. Information and bookings at the tourist office: 925 47 57 31 and 925 59 31 18.

The castle organises re-enactments, dramatised tours and activities throughout the year, and at those times access may be limited: allow a margin on the opening hours. In August, during Consuegra Medieval, prices are different, it is advisable to buy in advance and choose a time, and in the following days the castle may close for cleaning; call beforehand. During Consuegra Medieval and the Saffron Rose Festival, in October, the road up is closed and you have to walk.

It is the first stop of the Sunday with a guided castle visit, windmills and pottery, which continues to the Bolero and the Rucio windmill and ends with lunch in the village.