Castile-La Mancha home base

My time in that area has been very limited, but I did like Cuenca (not many American tourists, but definitely a discovered destination). Cuenca has a couple of small modern-art museums. With a car I think you might be able to manage day trips to Teruel and Albarracin, which seem to get fewer foreign visitors; I haven't checked driving times. I assume the hiking around Teruel is good; the terrain looked promising, if perhaps challenging. Teruel and Abarracin are right outside Castile-La Mancha, though.

It is to the east of the Don Quixote route, but I hope still helpful: I just spent two days in Cuenca, and I really wish it had been more!
It's a very art focused town, with a modern art bent. The dining scene was fantastic (Raff was particularly good).
You can hike right from the town into the gorge, or a short drive away you have several hiking opportunities. We went to the Serrania de Cuenca and hiked the escalaron trail from the town of Una.

ALSO: You probably know this, but we found driving times very slow. If the goal is the Quixote route, you would want to stay closer than Cuenca, but if you have time, do both.

Well, Castilla-La Mancha is pretty remote, not many population centres, in fact its tied with Extremadura for the region with the least population density in all of Spain (and Europe) lol!

In terms of a larger population center, Cuenca would be my top pick. As both Albacete and Ciudad Real are unremarkable and have the reputation of being dull.

Of course, there are several smaller more remote towns and villages in the heart of La Mancha, but those are really off the radar, even for Spaniards (a bit like the Bermuda Triangle). I've only heard of Tomelloso, as that's the town that were María, the runner up of last year's MasterChef España, came from 😆

If you do go to either Teruel or Albarracín, there is a short walk around Albarracín, Paseo Fluvial. Río Guadalaviar. A few miles from Teruel is the Camino Natural del Rio Guadalaviar. We liked it better than the walk around Albarracín. As a base, maybe consider Aranjuez. Possible places to visit for the Don Quixote route are Consuegra, Campo de Criptana, and Belmonte Castle (seen in the 1960s movie El Cid).

When selecting a base, research it. Many of the very small towns have little to offer with regard to shops, supermarkets, and even restaurants. Very recently we were surprised how many small towns had no shops or grocery stores, and a very limited number of restaurants. Even in towns that supposedly had a number of restaurants, when we got there, many were closed. In places like Alarcón and SOS Del Rey Católico, other than the guests at the Parador, we were about the only ones walking around town.

Such great information, thanks all!