Held over the last weekend of October, Consuegra's Saffron Rose Festival (Fiesta de la Rosa del Azafrán) celebrates the harvest of the spice that gives La Mancha its trademark golden tint. The town fills with stalls selling local cheeses, olive oils, and saffron in tiny glass tubes; teams compete at the monda — the speed-stripping of stigmas from the freshly picked flowers — and there are flamenco performances, parades, and a procession to the windmills.
If you can time a visit to coincide, do so: this is when Consuegra is most alive. The festival is officially classified as of National Tourist Interest.