La Vera, situated on the southern flanks of the Sierra de Gredos, the roof of Extremadura, is full of oak forests, of history and of traditional architecture. Cobbled streets with houses built of adobe and wood.

It is a place of legend, romance and the histories of monarchs like Carlos V who, while still Holy Roman Emperor, chose the remote monastery of Yuste as the place to spend his last days and indeed to be buried.

A traditional peasant gastronomy, which you will be not be able to pass by without tasting: tasajo, a dried beef, goats cheeses, migas, a dish based on breadcrumbs, and raspberries...

A series of gargantas, gorges, whose cold crystalline water dispel the heat of the summer, and whose mighty thundering waters will surprise you in the other seasons of the year.





  

This is a valley devoted to the cultivation of cherries and in the springtime the snow still covering the summits of the Gredos blends with cherry blossom which covers the whole valley below in a spectacular covering of white. The cherries that it produces are famous throughout Spain.

La garganta de los infiernos is a natural reserve and you will enjoy a place called los pilones, which is a series of natural basins excavated by the force of the river and rocks in winter; the same waters that on the hot summer days are calm enough to allow us to refresh ourselves.

Small villages of mainly farmers line the edges of the valley and the top ones are on the border of Extremadura and the province of Avila.





  

Hervás, is a small mountain community where the history of the Jews can still be felt in its side streets. The old Jewish quarter has been preserved and it shows the calamities that this culture suffered in the past.

Granadilla, a small village of medieval origin that was largely flooded after the construction of the dam of Gabriel and Galán except for its castle and its wall which stand in an extensive forest of great pines. Also near here is the impressive arch of Caparra, constructed in Roman times. It is tucked away on an important part of the ancient Roman road, the Via de la Plata, which linked Merida in the south to Astorga in the north.





  

Despite the damage caused every summer by intentionally started forest fires which have to be fought year after year there are still parts of this spectacular area that remain in their virgin state.

Great streams of water such as the Chorrituero de Ovejuela and the Gasco afford some compensation as we come to the end of our trekking routes.

The area of the border with Salamanca delights the tourist with a steep and abrupt escarpment; the honey and pollen of the bee keepers sweeten our way; the monastery of the Batuecas gives us a pause for reflection; and, as we climb higher, the river which accompanies us becomes just a stream, and then, finally, it is only threads of water trickling across the rock.




  

Tiny villages of small slate built houses, narrow side streets, the house fronts and balconies covered with a million geraniums.

The three valleys of this region are green and fresh. Hoyos, Villamiel, Trevejo, Villasbuenas... Good natured and open people, but whose poverty stricken ancestors were isolated by the harsh conditions of a primitive society, will delight you with their stories.