Benamonarda - guided walking in Extremadura

WALKING HOLIDAYS IN EXTREMADURA:
Sierra de Guadalupe and...

Sierras of Extremadura
Guided walking, history, nature — small international group — western Spain

Extremadura... poor, proud and beautiful: superb scenery and noble, golden stone cities. An intricate mixture of a little of each of Andalusia, Castile and inland Portugal, but with a character all its own.

ONE WEEK Activities: 5 walks of 3-6 hours and a short walk in northern Extremadura and the south of the province of Salamanca, on (sometimes steep and/or stony) footpaths with a few 'off path' sections; visits to Trujillo, El Palancar, Garrovillas, Zafra, the villages of Las Hurdes and the Sierra de Francia.
Denivellations 300-550m a day. Group 10 maximum.

Note: if you wish you can take a day off walking to visit Salamanca by local bus from Riomalo (unaccompanied, bus fare and lunch not included).

FULL BOARD in hotels in twin rooms with private bathrooms: 1 night at Zafra, 5 at Riomalo and 1 at Trujillo.

PRICE 775 euros per person
single room supplement 135 euros.

DATES (Sunday-Sunday)
2012 6-13 May.

RENDEZVOUS Seville airport or station (arrival before 16.00). Seville airport is well served by international flights, or fly to Madrid and take the AVE high-speed train to Santa Justa station. If you wish to arrive one or more days beforehand to visit Seville, we recommend an hotel in the Barrio de Santa Cruz, close to the Cathedral, Giralda and Alcázares (double room about 95 / single about 60 euros a night; we can make the booking for you).

DISPERSAL Trujillo (well connected by bus with Madrid; book a plane departing after 18.00).

Special price for combining 'Sierras of Extremadura' and 'Sierra de Guadalupe': 13 nights (Sun-Sat) 6-19 May 2012:
1345 euros (single supplement 250 euros). Rendezvous and dispersal at Seville.

Location of this programme:

DAY-TO-DAY
SUNDAY: Afternoon transfer from Seville to Zafra, whose whitewashed houses remind us of Andalusia, but with some very extremeño features like a castle and two plazas porticadas. The hotel for our first night is in a historic building on the Plaza Grande.

MONDAY: Travelling north, we stop for a stroll in the unique granite scenery of Los Barruecos. After visiting Garrovillas village (wonderful Plaza Mayor with its arcades all askew) and El Palancar, the world's smallest Christian monastery, we enter the dramatic landscapes of Las Hurdes, traditionally the poorest area of Spain, where we spend five nights in the tiny hamlet of Riomalo de Abajo.

TUESDAY: Ramble to the striking Meander of the Alagón, an important corridor for birds. After lunch we see the marvellous scenery of Las Batuecas, said by Buñuel to be one of the few earthly paradises he had found.

WEDNESDAY: Ascent of the Peña de Francia, a quartzite spike of 1732 m/5683 ft, topped by a monastery. Panoramas of all the Central Cordillera summits in clear weather. The charming villages of San Martín del Castañar and Casas del Conde.

THURSDAY: Walking amid the steep slate valley scenery of Las Hurdes near Riomalo. In the afternoon we look at some of the traditional arquitectura negra.

FRIDAY: In the gentler hills of the Sierra de Francia: the Alagón valley, oak forest, vineyards, chestnut groves. Visit to Miranda del Castañar, a fortified village.

SATURDAY: Morning walk on the Vía de la Plata Roman road, then we transfer through the Valle del Ambroz to the Monfragüe National Park: introduction to this important nature reserve, which has big colonies of griffon and black vultures as well as other raptors and black storks. Last night at Trujillo, birthplace of some noted 'Conquistadores'. Stroll through its alleys lined with fortified noble houses in pink granite...

SUNDAY: Dispersal at Trujillo bus station, or continuation with 'Sierra de Guadalupe'.

For other holidays in Extremadura see: 'Vía de la Plata' and 'Relaxing Zafra'

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Sierra de Guadalupe
Guided walking, history, nature — small international group — west-central Spain

Rising out of the fertile Guadiana plain, one of the most spectacular mountain ranges of the heart of Spain, for which the word sierra [saw] might have been invented! Abundant game and birdlife, particularly the azure-winged magpie, vineyards and an imposing Mudéjar monastery.

ONE WEEK (SATURDAY-SATURDAY) or 6 NIGHTS (SUNDAY-SATURDAY)
Activities: 5 walks of 3-5 hours on (sometimes steep and/or stony) paths with a few 'off path' sections; visits to Trujillo, Guadalupe and a bodega. Denivellations 200-600m a day. Group 10 maximum.

FULL BOARD in hotels in twin rooms with private bathrooms, 2 nights in the old city of Trujillo, 1 on the Plaza Grande of Zafra and four in the mountain inn of Berzocana which combines comfort, rustic charm, a warm welcome and good food.

PRICE SAT-SAT: 775 euros per person; single room supplement 135 euros;
SUN-SAT: 695 euros per person; single room supplement 115 euros.

DATES (Saturday or Sunday to Saturday)
2012 12 or 13-19 May.

RENDEZVOUS Trujillo (easily accessible by bus from Madrid; ask us for times; you should book a plane arriving by 13.30).

DISPERSAL Zafra (buses to Madrid; book a plane departing after 18.00) or Seville (departure after 14.00).

Special price for combining 'Sierras of Extremadura' and 'Sierra de Guadalupe': 13 nights (Sun-Sat) 6-19 May 2012:
1345 euros (single supplement 250 euros). Rendezvous and dispersal at Seville.

Location of this programme:

DAY-TO-DAY
SATURDAY: Welcome at Trujillo bus station, or continuation from 'Sierras of Extremadura'. First night at Trujillo, with dinner on the Plaza Mayor.

SUNDAY: Day in Trujillo, with ample time to explore the superb old city following our special topoguide... and perhaps a ramble round the walls, with immense views of the Llanos. For those joining us today, late afternoon rendezvous at the bus station.

MONDAY: Via the Llanos de Trujillo, famous for steppe birdlife, to the tiny village of Cabañas del Castillo, from where we walk among the quartzite canchos which separate the Llanos from the sawtooth ridges of Las Villuercas. We go on to Berzocana (4 nights here), with an afternoon ramble in its surroundings.

TUESDAY: Walk of the Embalse del Cancho del Fresno: splendid views and varied vegetation including pine and pyrenean oak forests, sweet chestnuts, cork oaks and matorral. Cañamero village, centre of Ribera del Guadiana wine production: works of the well-known ceramist Antonio Martín, and visit to a bodega.

WEDNESDAY: Exploration on foot of the Valley of the río Berzocana. The lush spring meadows and the statuesque pyrenean oaks attract our attention, before the walk ends with a surprising view of Berzocana village.

THURSDAY: The Camino de Isabel la Católica in the steps of pilgrims coming to Guadalupe from the south (including Isabel and Fernando after the fall of Moorish Granada). Wonderful scenery and the Cruz de Andrada, a pathetic reminder of a C19 bandit attack. Arrival at Guadalupe by the viaduct of a railway, built, but never used. Afternoon visit to Guadalupe village and monastery; return by bus.

FRIDAY: The pasturelands, woods and vineyards of the slopes of the Ruecas valley. Transfer to Zafra: evening exploration of its alleys, squares, castle and collegiate church. Last night of excellent Extremaduran cuisine in our hotel on the Plaza Grande.

SATURDAY: Transfer to Zafra bus station or Seville.