Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to October) are the best times to visit Mota del Cuervo. Temperatures are moderate, the light across the plateau is beautiful, and the countryside is either in bloom or turning gold. Spring is particularly good if you want to see the windmills turning — the winds that gave them their purpose blow more reliably in the wetter months.
Summer in La Mancha is harsh. July and August bring intense heat, regularly above 35°C, with little shade on the ridge where the windmills stand. Visits early in the morning or in the early evening are still worthwhile, but a midday walk up to the mills in high summer is uncomfortable. Winter is cold and can be grey, but the plateau has a stark beauty and the roads are quiet.
Saffron — La Mancha's most famous crop — is harvested in late October and early November. The fields around Mota del Cuervo fill with the purple flowers of Crocus sativus, and the harvest, done entirely by hand at dawn, is one of the more extraordinary agricultural spectacles in Spain.