Cerro Masatrigo

From a distance, this mountain looks like a heap of wheat, an amazing cone 176 meters high above the water (maximum level of filling of La Serena reservoir). It is located in the municipality of Esparragosa de Lares, in La Siberia (province of Badajoz). It is reached by the EX 322 road, which connects Cabeza del Buey and Puebla de Alcocer. Since May 2023, it is a Natural Monument of Extremadura.

After the construction of the reservoir (the largest in Spain and the third in Europe), this mountain became an island in the middle of the Zújar river, bordered by a one-way road. The vehicles that go to Cabeza del Buey circulate on the western side and those that go to Puebla de Alcocer, on the eastern side. This particularity makes Cerro Masatrigo look like a roundabout, "the biggest and most beautiful in Spain" with its 775 meters in diameter, some say. For the Templars, who built a fortress on another nearby elevation, Masatrigo was the "Magic Mountain".

From the top, 528 meters above sea level, there are several viewpoints and spectacular views of La Siberia and La Serena. The highest point can be reached via Masatrigo Botanical Trail (SL BA 198), which starts at the car park and is just over six kilometers long (round trip). For this, there are two itineraries: one around the middle of the slope, with a very low unevenness, and another that leads to the top by the shortest path, but with a high difficulty.

Cerro Masatrigo, integrated into the Special Protection Area for Birds 'La Serena y Sierras Periféricas', is an interesting place to birdwatching. Among other species, you can see White Stork, Black Stork, Mallard, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Griffon Vulture, Common Crane, Black Wheatear and Blue Rock Trush.