Cuenca is the province of vertical abandonments — Moya at 1,155 meters above sea level on a strategic hill overlooking the territory of three kingdoms, with double walls, castle, seven churches, and two convents silent since the 19th century; Carrascosilla in the Alcarria, crossed by the Onorio river, with its 20 houses emptied in the 60s when its residents moved to Huete in search of electric light; Villalbilla, abandoned in the 80s not due to rural exodus but something more basic — lack of drinking water. The Serranía de Cuenca, the most depopulated territory in Spain after Finnish Lapland according to some studies, holds among its pines and junipers a heritage of abandonment unknown to conventional travelers. Discover the 5 best abandoned places in Cuenca, selected from our Urbex Map Spain — 600+ GPS locations across Spain.
Why Cuenca Is an Exceptional Urbex Destination
The province of Cuenca has the highest density of abandoned villages per square kilometer in all of Castilla-La Mancha — the Serranía Alta, the Alcarria conquense, and the Ademuz corner concentrate dozens of villages emptied by rural exodus in the 60s-80s. Added to this are the medieval town of Moya, the conventual and monastic heritage of the diocese, and the Cabriel resin colony.
1. Moya – Serranía de Cuenca — Medieval Town at 1,155 Meters, Double Walls, Marquisate Castle, Capital of 36 Villages, Abandoned Since the 19th Century (Known Place)
Moya in the Serranía de Cuenca is the most extraordinary abandoned medieval city in the interior of the peninsula — strategically located at 1,155 meters above sea level on a hill overlooking the territories of Cuenca, Teruel, and Valencia. It was once the capital of the Marquisate of Moya, with 36 subordinate villages and 1,200 inhabitants at its peak in the 16th century. Castle, double walls, seven churches — only one still standing — two convents, two hospitals, and eight access gates. Declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1982. Note 2024: with an investment close to one million euros from the Cabriel Valley Sustainability Plan, restoration of the castle and walls began in 2024 — a must-visit while the site still retains its atmosphere of historic abandonment. Documented by Infobae as the most extraordinary abandoned medieval village in Spain.
🔗 Source: Infobae – The Abandoned Medieval Village of Moya Cuenca 2024
2. Carrascosilla – La Alcarria Region, Cuenca — 20 Abandoned Houses in the 1960s, Crossed by the Onorio River, Without Electric Light Until the End (Known Place)
Carrascosilla in La Alcarria of Cuenca is one of the most representative abandoned villages of the province’s rural exodus — located 900 meters above sea level, crossed by the Onorio River and 10 kilometers from the town of Huete, it was deserted when in the 1960s its inhabitants gradually left, mostly moving to Huete, attracted by the comforts that Carrascosilla could not offer — including the lack of electric light. The village consists of about 20 houses, and although some still stand, most are in ruins. An intimate scale abandonment with a melancholic atmosphere in the landscape of La Alcarria. Documented by tuscasasrurales.com as one of the seven most representative abandoned villages of Cuenca.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Abandoned Sites in Spain →
3. Villalbilla – Serranía de Cuenca — Abandoned in the 1980s Due to Lack of Drinking Water, 19 Houses, Church with Visible Interior Decoration (Known Place)
Villalbilla in the Serranía de Cuenca has a particularly unfair history of abandonment — it was not due to the rural exodus of the 1960s or lack of work, but something more basic: the lack of drinking water. Its residents left the village in the early 1980s, a time when the administration's neglect failed to bring water there, despite the Serranía de Cuenca being very close and well known for the quantity and quality of its waters. There were 19 houses where people lived. The best-preserved remains are those of its church, with some blue decoration still visible. Documented by Two On Trip on their route through the abandoned villages of Cuenca.
🔗 Source: Two On Trip – Abandoned Villages of Cuenca
4. Cabriel Resin Colony – Upper Serranía, Cuenca — Abandoned Industrial Complex by the Cabriel River, Workers’ Houses, Ruined Distillery (Exclusively on Our Map)
An old resin colony in the Upper Serranía of Cuenca by the Cabriel River — the workers’ houses, the distillery where pine resin was processed, and the industrial ruins in the pine and juniper landscape of the Serranía. The resin industry was one of the economic engines of the Serranía de Cuenca during the first third of the 20th century — the repopulated 19th-century pine forests produced abundant resin distilled to obtain turpentine and rosin. The closure of the distilleries when petrochemical derivatives made the process cheaper left these colonies empty with all their industrial infrastructure intact. GPS coordinates available on our Urbex Spain Map.
5. Abandoned Medieval Castle – Serranía de Cuenca — 13th-14th Century Fortress on the Edge of the Tajo, Standing Towers, Canyon Views (Off the Radar — Only on Our Map)
A medieval castle from the 13th-14th century on the edge of a Tajo canyon in the Serranía de Cuenca — towers standing on the cliff edge and views of the canyon carved by the river in Jurassic limestone. The castles of the Serranía de Cuenca are the least known in the interior of the peninsula — built to control the passes between the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, and Valencia in the most tense border area of the Reconquista, many have been unused and unmaintained for centuries in a landscape that has integrated them so completely they are hard to distinguish from the natural rock. Find it on our map — with access rating and condition report.
Safety Tips
- Canyons and ravines: the Serranía de Cuenca has canyons with vertical walls up to 100 meters high — never approach any edge without a railing or established path; the limestone terrain can be slippery during rainy seasons
- Moya under restoration: restoration works started in 2024 may have fenced-off areas — respect safety fences and do not enter areas marked as dangerous due to the work
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and share your location
The urbex code: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous abandoned place in Cuenca?
Moya — the medieval town at 1,155 meters altitude with double walls, the Marquisate castle, and seven churches, once the capital of 36 villages in its heyday. Declared a Historic-Artistic Ensemble in 1982 and undergoing restoration since 2024, it is the abandoned village with the largest medieval urban scale in the entire province. A must-visit before restoration changes its current state.
Why is the Serranía de Cuenca so depopulated?
The Serranía de Cuenca is one of the most depopulated areas in Europe — cited in some studies alongside Finnish Lapland as one of the territories with the lowest population density on the continent. The combination of historical geographic isolation, poor mountain soils for agriculture, and lack of industrialization caused the rural exodus of the 1960s-70s to empty the Serranía with a speed and completeness unmatched by any other Spanish region.
What was the resin industry and why did it disappear?
The resin industry exploited pine resin to obtain turpentine (solvent) and rosin (used in varnishes, soaps, and paper). The pine forests of the Serranía de Cuenca were extensively replanted in the 19th century precisely to supply this industry. The emergence of synthetic petrochemical solvents in the 1960s made the process so cheap that natural resin ceased to be competitive; distilleries closed within a few years and the workers’ colonies were left empty in the forest.
🎯 Summary
Discover the abandoned places in Cuenca: from Moya with its double walls and the Marquisate castle atop the hill to Carrascosilla with its 20 houses emptied in the 1960s and Villalbilla, the village that disappeared because no one brought water. Each of these 5 abandoned sites in Cuenca captures a different layer of the most depopulated province in inland Spain, where the Serranía hides among pines and junipers the deepest silences of Spain.
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