Campo de Criptana, Spain: travel guide to the windmills of Don Quixote, the Sierra de los Molinos and La Mancha

Campo de Criptana is a town in the province of Ciudad Real, in Castilla-La Mancha, at the heart of the cereal plains of La Mancha. It is famous above all for its windmills, the white sails that Miguel de Cervantes immortalised as the giants of Don Quixote, set on the hill known as the Sierra de los Molinos.

For travellers searching for Campo de Criptana windmills, the giants of Don Quixote, the Route of Don Quixote or things to see in La Mancha, this is one of the most iconic cultural landscapes in Spain, where the sails still turn against an endless horizon.

The windmills and Don Quixote

The presence of windmills in Campo de Criptana is documented from the 16th century, and in the 18th century as many as 34 were recorded in operation, more than in the rest of La Mancha combined. The town claims to be the setting for the celebrated episode in which Don Quixote, mistaking the mills for giants, charges at them in chapter VIII of Cervantes's novel. Of the mills that survive today, three (Infanto, Burleta and Sardinero) preserve their original 16th-century machinery, among the very few in the Iberian Peninsula still able to grind in the traditional way.

Main sights

The windmills crown the Cerro de la Paz, above the old quarter of whitewashed houses with blue trim, narrow sloping streets, Arabic tiles and wrought-iron grilles. Around ten mills can be visited; one serves as the tourist office, and the Culebro mill houses a museum dedicated to the singer and actress Sara Montiel, who was born in the town. Guided visits to the historic mills explain their structure and workings. The 16th-century Church of the Assumption and several hermitages complete the heritage of the town.

Practical information

Campo de Criptana lies about 160 km from Madrid and is a natural stop on the Route of Don Quixote and the windmill circuits of La Mancha. The Sierra de los Molinos has a car park, and guided tours of the mills can be arranged through the local tourist office.