RUTA VÍA DE LA PLATA

STAGE 1: CASTILLO DE LAS TORRES - MONESTERIO

Difficulty: Medium/Low

Distance: 21, 0 Km.

CONTENTS:

• STATEMENT
• WHAT TO EAT
• SHOPPING
• WALKING, PEDALLING AND HORSE RIDING
• ALTERNATIVE ROUTES
• SURROUNDING AREA

 

STATEMENT OF THE ITINERARY

The Vía de la Plata starts its Extremaduran stretch with the waters of the Víbora River, which marks the border between the provinces of Seville and Badajoz. This is only 700m away from the town of Real de la Jara and just at this point to our left, on the road, is an H3 sign which provides information about the journey we are taking in and a green yellow H1 sign which indicates that we are on the old roman route and tells us which direction to take. To our right we can see the ruins of the Castillo de las Torres castle, a historical lookout. Significant parts of the old structure still remain in place today.

Walking through oak groves we are at times accompanied by large herds of Iberian pigs, which on the mountainside eat the acorns that drop from the thousands and thousands of holm and cork oak trees in the area. The route is relatively problem free apart from the need to cross the occasional small stream or other larger stretches of water, for example the Culebrín brook which is at kilometre 9.8 on our route, one kilometre before another reference point which is useful to note: the San Isidro Hermitage, which will be on our left. Some metres further on we cross the EX-103 road which connects the A-66 at La Venta del Culebrín with the beautiful Extremaduran town of Llerena.

The route is well marked out by the green-yellow signs that become more frequent as we start to move slightly uphill, parallel to the A-66 which can be seen on the left, through eucalyptus trees, until we reach kilometre point 14 of our route, the point where the path crosses a few metres of now disused asphalt. A green-yellow sign indicates the direction to follow until we reach a stop sign where we cross to the left hand side of the A-66.A few metres further on we move away from the road and follow a path between olive trees which runs parallel to the A-66, now on our right. At 200 meters we find another green-yellow sign and a wooden sign which reminds us that the Seville-Almadén track goes south.

Continuing on the left hand side of the A-66 we pass a sign for a nearby campsite and arrive at the start of a stretch of the old A-6. Here a green-yellow sign points the way along the asphalt which we follow for 500m. At the end of this stretch, and on the left, we continue parallel to the A-66 once more for a few metres.

Before long there is a new green-yellow sign which shows us the zigzag route between oak groves that we are to follow to reach the recreational area on the outskirts of Monasterio. In the centre of the town we can find another H3 sign which provides information about the following stage and about Monesterio itself. We leave this town, which is a temple to the cerdo de Pata Negra (Iberian Black Hoofed pig) and which holds a special day in celebration of Iberian Cured Ham in September, passing close to a football pitch at 1.7 km from the H3 located in the town centre. Do not forget to visit the San Pedro Apóstol parish church which is in the gothic renaissance style and the General Interpretation Centre for the Vía de la Plata in Extremadura. Both of these can be found in the same square in the centre of the town.

WHAT TO EAT

Thanks in part to products derived from the Iberian Pig and many others that the land generously offers up, such as the delicious local asparagus, mushrooms and thistles, the gastronomy of this area has become a key attraction for many of the visitors who come here to enjoy the dishes and casseroles.

Caldereta de cordero (lamb stew) is the classic dish from this part of the south of Extremadura, but we should never forget the dishes made from big game. In Llerena we can enjoy the sopas doradas (golden soups), conejo a la Inquisición (“Inquisition” style rabbit) and the sweets made by the Convent of the Clarisa Sisters.

SHOPPING

Ham from the Iberian Pig, reared in the Extremaduran farms, abounds in this area and is of very high quality. In this area we can find shops that specialise in products derived from the Iberian Pig.
Also of interest is the furniture in Jerez de los Caballeros and the pottery, ceramics and marble items from Fregenal de la Sierra. Llerena is famous for its lovely embroidered products.

WALKING, PEDALLING AND HORSE RIDING

The countryside in the area, with its pasture land combined with low altitude mountain ranges, encourages nature lovers to take gentle walks, admiring the Tentudía mountain range, the highest peak in the province of Badajoz.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES

The nearby Sierra Sur area, a paradise for the famous "black hoofed" Iberian pig, contains one of the most impressive historical and artistic heritages in Extremadura. This results from the mixture of the Andalusian, Extremaduran and Portuguese cultures. Jerez de los Caballeros, Fregenal and Oliva de la Frontera are names very closely associated with the baroque influence in Extremadura.

SURROUNDING AREA

The Vía de la Plata starts its route through Extremaduran amongst large areas of holm and cork oaks, leaving behind the final peaks of the Extremaduran mountain range Sierra Morena, a valuable habitat for many birds of prey and hunter species which live in the wide areas of the lower ground where the dominant local plant species are the rockrose, mastic tree and yellow elder. The Fuentes de León Caves, karst in origin, have been declared Extremaduran Nature Monuments.

An interesting option is to visit the Tentudía Nature Interpretation Centre, housed in the old Silo facilities in Monesterio, and find out about the eco-systems of the district.

The towns crossed by the Vía de la Plata in this southerly part of Extremadura have not threatened the survival of this gem of a Mediterranean forest, one of whose most important features is the Iberian pig, the Extremaduran Black Hoofed pig, whose meat, sausages, cold meats and hams have become a world famous delicacy. These cured hams, sold under the protection of the “Dehesa de Extremadura” Denomination of Origin, are produced in many of the towns around the area, such as Monesterio, Calera de León, Cabeza la Vaca, Fuentes de León and Segura de León.

For real fishing and water sports fans, the Tentudía reservoir offers the perfect place to practice their sports, with its backdrop of beautiful holm oak trees and its numerous established rest areas. The Military Orders, such as the Santiago Order, passed through these districts and left their mark in the military, civil and religious constructions that can be found in Calera de Leon. This town, called Al-Casera during the Arabic period, has a gothic renaissance style Santiago Conventual which dates back to the sixteenth century.

Cabeza la Vaca, which probably owes its name to the man who was once Grand Master of the Santiago Order, Pedro Fernández Cabeza de Vaca, has one of the most beautiful architectural sites in the area, retaining its famous sixteenth century “stocks”. Segura de León, where the famous Segura treasure was found, reached the rank of Encomienda Mayor (grand fortress community) in the Santiago Order and contains a fourteenth century castle of Arab origin. Its famous Capeas festival is held in September and has been declared to be a Regional Festival of Interest to Tourists.

The historical Tentudía monastery, originally constructed in the thirteenth century, with its fortress appearance and beautiful Mudejar style cloister, can be found in the highest point in this area, the Tentudía peak, at an altitude of 1,104 metres. Inside the monastery we can find an original altarpiece with tiles which dates back to 1518 and the sepulchre of the once Maestre Mayor of the Santiago Order, Pelay Pérez Correa.