Читать книгу The Sierras of Extremadura. 32 half and full-day walks in western Spain's hills онлайн

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The region is sparsely populated in modern terms: it has only 26 residents per square kilometre, while England has 406. The largest city in Extremadura is Badajoz with a little over 150,000 inhabitants. Most people live in small towns or villages each with their distinct character and quite separate from the next. Ribbon development does not exist in Extremadura.

Walking down to Puente Sacristán (Walk 10)

What does exist, in abundance, is open countryside, mountains, hills, valleys, lakes, rivers, forests, pasture and thousands of kilometres of paths criss-crossing the region. These paths are perfect for walking: some are part of an ancient communication network from the days when people walked everywhere; some are delightful meanderings around the agricultural areas that surround every village. The oldest are paved with granite, others are soft earth. Many are shaded with trees and have verges profuse with flowers, in season.

The untouched countryside is a haven for wildlife and birds, and Extremadura has many protected areas. Monfragüe National Park lies at the heart of where the Tiétar and Tajo rivers meet; the area is covered in forest and is famous as a nesting site for many species of raptor. Further west, where the Tajo crosses into Portugal, the Tajo International Natural Park has been established where the rivers Erjas and Sever join the bigger river. The oldest rocks in the peninsula sit in the middle of the Cáceres plain, and the Monumental Park of Los Barruecos has spectacular granite rocks of at least 575 million years old. Its lakes attract birds year-round.