Welcome to Walking Extremadura — the web site all about walking in Extremadura
I started this web site in the Summer of 2007. It was just after I came to live in the Sierra de Montánchez and realised there were unexplored walking opportunities available in the area. I wanted to share what I was discovering, firstly with family and friends and later, with the much wider, and international, walking community. Walking Extremadura will show you the beauty of walking in this area - and not just walking. This is also the place for painters, flower lovers, bird watchers, photographers, animal lovers and people who love history. That’s before we start on about lovers of good food and relaxed and enjoyable company. You will find all that and more in Extremadura.
On walkingextremadura.com you will find:
To navigate this site use the horizontal menu bar at the top. All the walks can be found listed under the 'walks' button, then the area in which they are located geographically. It's logical, I hope. The site has been made simple so that all of us spend less time on the computer and more time walking.
I have my boots on, ready, as I write.
Gisela Radant Wood
All photography and text on this site © Gisela Radant Wood
(Click on small photos to get a whole-screen view, then close by clicking the x in the top right corner.)
All maps are by Google
On walkingextremadura.com you will find:
- regularly written up walks and routes with descriptive text, maps and GPS points to locate walks accurately
- a few historical notes on the routes and general information on walking in Extremadura
- a lot of photography to tempt you here
- how to get here and where to stay
- links, changing pages and updates
To navigate this site use the horizontal menu bar at the top. All the walks can be found listed under the 'walks' button, then the area in which they are located geographically. It's logical, I hope. The site has been made simple so that all of us spend less time on the computer and more time walking.
I have my boots on, ready, as I write.
Gisela Radant Wood
All photography and text on this site © Gisela Radant Wood
(Click on small photos to get a whole-screen view, then close by clicking the x in the top right corner.)
All maps are by Google
Walking News and Updates • 4th February 2025
On the 23rd January 2025, after seven years of thinking, making plans, reading, studying, taking to experts, exploring on foot, getting lost in a very productive way, visiting locations, taking photographs, writing and rewriting, I finally sent my third book off to print. The book is called:
"The History of Extremadura: and where to find it"
and, as the title suggests, it is first and foremost a history book. However, unlike most of that genre, this book has a section after each chapter that pinpoints where to see the history related in the previous chapter. There are GPS points but there are also directions. Many things to see can be accessed by vehicle but many more need some walking to get there, which, after all, is what we all love to do: walk.
The book was something that took a long time to come to fruition because, initially, I did not read Spanish sufficiently well to feel confident enough in my understanding of what I was reading. That changed. The discovery that the top universities in the United States of America generously allow access to the works of ancient historians, translated into English, made me feel that there was something amazing waiting to happen — my next book.
Over the many thousands of kilometres I have walked throughout Extremadura during the past 18 years, I have enjoyed the scenery; the mountain ranges, the river valleys, the trees and vegetation and the amazing carpets of wild flowers every Spring. I have loved the butterflies and birds and the shy mammals as they crossed my path. However, there was one thing that kept recurring and that was the remains of groups of peoples who had lived here millennia ago and had disappeared — but not their works; their cave paintings, burial mounds, dwellings, villages, sanctuaries, sculptures, tracks and all manner of evidence of their past existence. I do not just mean artefacts in museums but real evidence, free for everyone to discover in the wide, open countryside and in the good, fresh air.
The book uncovers little known facts about Extremadura. It has rocks that were formed before any others in Europe and has some of the most ancient cave paintings dating back to over 64,000 years. It is home to the largest concentration of dolmens in any comparable European area and includes the earliest dolmen. The Tartessians were the peninsula’s first real civilisation and Extremadura currently has three — and counting —archaeological sites testifying to their importance. There are sites with exceptional ruins of Celtiberian settlements, some less-well preserved sites and more are being discovered. It is said that Extremadura has more Roman ruins than anywhere outside Rome. There is a splendid Roman theatre where ancient Greek and Latin plays are preformed every summer. There is also the longest surviving arched bridge built in Roman times and the world’s oldest Roman dam still in use today. Extremadura has one, of only two, Visigoth Churches in Spain. The second largest Moorish cistern on the Iberian peninsula is in Extremadura and others are sited within castles and fortresses of importance. The Reconquest saw the construction of innumerable religious buildings some with stunning Mudéjar architectural features — a mixture of Christian and Moorish design. Wars delayed progress but they did not damage the historic cities that were awarded World Heritage status at the end of the last century. Finally, history comes up-to-date with the future of the region looking positive and bright.
In addition to all that is the 'where to find it' part, which brings the history alive.
The 'books' drop-down menu now has each of my three books with its own page. As you all know, I like to do updates as and when they are necessary and that may be for all sorts of reasons but it's important to me that everyone has the best information possible.The walkingextremadura@live.com continues to be the e-mail address.
In the meanwhile, happy walking and happy reading and here's the link to the book:
The History of Extremadura and where to find it
Slideshow:
Between Garganta del Olla and Cuacos de Yuste, La Vera
Reservoir at the Casas de Don Antonio, Cáceres province
Walking towards the Hermitage of Our Lady of Snows, Guijo de Santa Barbara, Sierra de Gredos
Reflections in the natural pool in Jaraiz de la Vera
Yellow butterfly on early flowering lavender, Sierra de Montánchez
Sierra de Montánchez
Near the head of the Arroyo de la Garganta, north of Robeldillo de Gata, Sierra de Gata-Las Hurdes border
Cascades Nogaleas, Navaconcejo, Montes de Tras la Sierra
Short-toed eagle looking for breakfast over the Sierra de Montánchez (below the eagle but hidden)
Near Los Pilones, Parque Natural Garganta de los Infiernos, Jerte Valley
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker outside Almoharín, Sierra de Montánchez
Fritillary butterfly on thistles near the Castle of Amenara, Sierra de Gata
On the Camino del Payo between Villamiel and Payo, Sierra de Gata
Griffon Vultures on the walk up to the castle, Monfragüe National Park
"The History of Extremadura: and where to find it"
and, as the title suggests, it is first and foremost a history book. However, unlike most of that genre, this book has a section after each chapter that pinpoints where to see the history related in the previous chapter. There are GPS points but there are also directions. Many things to see can be accessed by vehicle but many more need some walking to get there, which, after all, is what we all love to do: walk.
The book was something that took a long time to come to fruition because, initially, I did not read Spanish sufficiently well to feel confident enough in my understanding of what I was reading. That changed. The discovery that the top universities in the United States of America generously allow access to the works of ancient historians, translated into English, made me feel that there was something amazing waiting to happen — my next book.
Over the many thousands of kilometres I have walked throughout Extremadura during the past 18 years, I have enjoyed the scenery; the mountain ranges, the river valleys, the trees and vegetation and the amazing carpets of wild flowers every Spring. I have loved the butterflies and birds and the shy mammals as they crossed my path. However, there was one thing that kept recurring and that was the remains of groups of peoples who had lived here millennia ago and had disappeared — but not their works; their cave paintings, burial mounds, dwellings, villages, sanctuaries, sculptures, tracks and all manner of evidence of their past existence. I do not just mean artefacts in museums but real evidence, free for everyone to discover in the wide, open countryside and in the good, fresh air.
The book uncovers little known facts about Extremadura. It has rocks that were formed before any others in Europe and has some of the most ancient cave paintings dating back to over 64,000 years. It is home to the largest concentration of dolmens in any comparable European area and includes the earliest dolmen. The Tartessians were the peninsula’s first real civilisation and Extremadura currently has three — and counting —archaeological sites testifying to their importance. There are sites with exceptional ruins of Celtiberian settlements, some less-well preserved sites and more are being discovered. It is said that Extremadura has more Roman ruins than anywhere outside Rome. There is a splendid Roman theatre where ancient Greek and Latin plays are preformed every summer. There is also the longest surviving arched bridge built in Roman times and the world’s oldest Roman dam still in use today. Extremadura has one, of only two, Visigoth Churches in Spain. The second largest Moorish cistern on the Iberian peninsula is in Extremadura and others are sited within castles and fortresses of importance. The Reconquest saw the construction of innumerable religious buildings some with stunning Mudéjar architectural features — a mixture of Christian and Moorish design. Wars delayed progress but they did not damage the historic cities that were awarded World Heritage status at the end of the last century. Finally, history comes up-to-date with the future of the region looking positive and bright.
In addition to all that is the 'where to find it' part, which brings the history alive.
The 'books' drop-down menu now has each of my three books with its own page. As you all know, I like to do updates as and when they are necessary and that may be for all sorts of reasons but it's important to me that everyone has the best information possible.The walkingextremadura@live.com continues to be the e-mail address.
In the meanwhile, happy walking and happy reading and here's the link to the book:
The History of Extremadura and where to find it
Slideshow:
Between Garganta del Olla and Cuacos de Yuste, La Vera
Reservoir at the Casas de Don Antonio, Cáceres province
Walking towards the Hermitage of Our Lady of Snows, Guijo de Santa Barbara, Sierra de Gredos
Reflections in the natural pool in Jaraiz de la Vera
Yellow butterfly on early flowering lavender, Sierra de Montánchez
Sierra de Montánchez
Near the head of the Arroyo de la Garganta, north of Robeldillo de Gata, Sierra de Gata-Las Hurdes border
Cascades Nogaleas, Navaconcejo, Montes de Tras la Sierra
Short-toed eagle looking for breakfast over the Sierra de Montánchez (below the eagle but hidden)
Near Los Pilones, Parque Natural Garganta de los Infiernos, Jerte Valley
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker outside Almoharín, Sierra de Montánchez
Fritillary butterfly on thistles near the Castle of Amenara, Sierra de Gata
On the Camino del Payo between Villamiel and Payo, Sierra de Gata
Griffon Vultures on the walk up to the castle, Monfragüe National Park
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We are not on FaceBook or Twitter (I'd rather be walking) but if you want to keep up with the news just put us into 'favourites' and visit every so often.
We are not on FaceBook or Twitter (I'd rather be walking) but if you want to keep up with the news just put us into 'favourites' and visit every so often.