The disaster of Alarcos in 1195 was one of the worst defeats of the Reconquest, but curiously it was the crucial turning point for the total loss of Al Andalus to the Muslims. In 1212 the same king, Alfonso VIII, and the same enemies, the Almohads, faced each other again at Navas de Tolosa, the most important battle ever seen on peninsular soil. In this trip we will visit the area of Alarcos, Ciudad Real and the two most important castles in the history of the first Military Order of Spain, the Order of Calatrava.
