The walking
A little preparation and information can enhance the experience of walking in Extremadura. I've put together a few thoughts ...
Equipment to consider
• A lightweight rucksack or backpack.
• Appropriate footwear and socks are essential. Granite can be slippery when wet and slippery when dry and covered in fine earth.
• In summer, wear shorts if you want to, but in winter covered legs are favourite.
• Insect repellant. Flies can be irritating in the summer and are attracted to perspiring bodies.
• Drinking water is necessary year-round; at least 1 litre per person, per walk.
• A high energy snack like nuts or pure black chocolate. Dried fruits for longer walks.
• Map, compass, GPS. However, all the walks on this site, and in my book, do not actually need a GPS. Just follow the directions.
• Mobile phone, torch, knife.
• Camera, binoculars.
• Weather kit: a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses are essential all year round, lightweight waterproofs.
• Basic First Aid; plasters, antiseptic cream, bandage.
I like to walk with two lightweight walking poles. They are a help for going up ascents that take several hours but are also good for going down again. They can pin back encroaching bushes and test the depths of streams. Not everyone walks with poles. Some walkers like one and some like two. Do what is comfortable for you.
Health and Safety
All the routes on this site are safe to walk. However, landscapes do change. Should anything untoward occur ring 112 for assistance. Extremadura has an excellent Health Service with 24 hour accident cover. Some medical staff speak a little English but most only speak Spanish. Carry your EHiC card and holiday insurance to cover walking activities. It is also a good idea to have a list in the generic name of any medicines you take.
Not everywhere has mobile coverage so always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.
Every summer there is the danger of fire in the countryside. Never, ever, light a fire in the countryside. There are strict rules about this. Bonfires, even campfires and barbecues, need a permit from the local Town Hall.
Close all gates behind you and never enter a field where black bulls are grazing. Just don’t do it. Paths that go through areas of rough grazing for animals are perfectly safe. Cows with young calves may watch you carefully as you pass them by but they will be used to walkers. Just do not do anything unexpected and do not approach the calves, no matter how cute they look. The cows will be nervous.
The sierras are covered with natural springs. You can fill up water bottles at most springs and wells unless there is a sign saying 'No Potable'. I've drunk water from most of the water sources in the Sierra de Montánchez without the slightest problem. It's fine.
Do not walk in high summer on a route with very little shade. It's just not practical. The idea of walking in sunshine is fine but 40ºC in July and August is not sunshine — it's death. The only way to do it is to get up early at 5.00 and finish the walk by 10.00 or leave it until around 21.00 and just do two hours. I get up early and it's perfectly lovely but by 10.00 it's already too hot.
Do not walk in the high sierras in the north of Extremadura in mist or fog. Do not walk if there is the threat of snow.
Maps
Maps are great fun and I have loved them since I was a small child. Extremadura is mapped and covered in 1:25.000 and 1:50.000 by the Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica. However, some areas are not very up-to-date and the only available map may be 50 years old. No mater. Apart from the roads, the countryside and footpaths will be the same. Things do not change that quickly here.
https://www.cnig.es/cambiarIdioma.do?lang=en
Maps can be bought in Cáceres from G.I.S. IBERICA, S.L., Av. Hernán Cortés, 3, Local Bajo Derecha, 10001 (Cáceres).
www.gisiberica.com
Maps can also be obtained in the U.K. from Stanfords,
www.stanfords.co.uk
Definitions of often-used phrases in the route descriptions
Lane — usually in a reasonable condition made of concrete or compacted dirt. Normally near a population centre and for lots of users; vehicles, horses, bikes, people.
Track — made of almost anything and definitely in the countryside. It is wide enough for transport suitable for the terrain, plus horses, bikes and people.
Path — anything from granite paved or rocky to grassy or dirt. Much narrower than a lane or track and for horses, donkeys and people.
Stream bed — might be dry or very wet depending on the rainfall during the previous winter.
Flowering bushes — generally lavender, cistus, broom and retama.
Wall — dry stone wall unless otherwise stated.
In season — exactly that. The promise of spring flowers is not possible in the autumn.
Top photo: Outside Robledillo de Trujillo in May (Walk 20 'The Sierras of Extremadura')
A little preparation and information can enhance the experience of walking in Extremadura. I've put together a few thoughts ...
Equipment to consider
• A lightweight rucksack or backpack.
• Appropriate footwear and socks are essential. Granite can be slippery when wet and slippery when dry and covered in fine earth.
• In summer, wear shorts if you want to, but in winter covered legs are favourite.
• Insect repellant. Flies can be irritating in the summer and are attracted to perspiring bodies.
• Drinking water is necessary year-round; at least 1 litre per person, per walk.
• A high energy snack like nuts or pure black chocolate. Dried fruits for longer walks.
• Map, compass, GPS. However, all the walks on this site, and in my book, do not actually need a GPS. Just follow the directions.
• Mobile phone, torch, knife.
• Camera, binoculars.
• Weather kit: a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses are essential all year round, lightweight waterproofs.
• Basic First Aid; plasters, antiseptic cream, bandage.
I like to walk with two lightweight walking poles. They are a help for going up ascents that take several hours but are also good for going down again. They can pin back encroaching bushes and test the depths of streams. Not everyone walks with poles. Some walkers like one and some like two. Do what is comfortable for you.
Health and Safety
All the routes on this site are safe to walk. However, landscapes do change. Should anything untoward occur ring 112 for assistance. Extremadura has an excellent Health Service with 24 hour accident cover. Some medical staff speak a little English but most only speak Spanish. Carry your EHiC card and holiday insurance to cover walking activities. It is also a good idea to have a list in the generic name of any medicines you take.
Not everywhere has mobile coverage so always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.
Every summer there is the danger of fire in the countryside. Never, ever, light a fire in the countryside. There are strict rules about this. Bonfires, even campfires and barbecues, need a permit from the local Town Hall.
Close all gates behind you and never enter a field where black bulls are grazing. Just don’t do it. Paths that go through areas of rough grazing for animals are perfectly safe. Cows with young calves may watch you carefully as you pass them by but they will be used to walkers. Just do not do anything unexpected and do not approach the calves, no matter how cute they look. The cows will be nervous.
The sierras are covered with natural springs. You can fill up water bottles at most springs and wells unless there is a sign saying 'No Potable'. I've drunk water from most of the water sources in the Sierra de Montánchez without the slightest problem. It's fine.
Do not walk in high summer on a route with very little shade. It's just not practical. The idea of walking in sunshine is fine but 40ºC in July and August is not sunshine — it's death. The only way to do it is to get up early at 5.00 and finish the walk by 10.00 or leave it until around 21.00 and just do two hours. I get up early and it's perfectly lovely but by 10.00 it's already too hot.
Do not walk in the high sierras in the north of Extremadura in mist or fog. Do not walk if there is the threat of snow.
Maps
Maps are great fun and I have loved them since I was a small child. Extremadura is mapped and covered in 1:25.000 and 1:50.000 by the Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica. However, some areas are not very up-to-date and the only available map may be 50 years old. No mater. Apart from the roads, the countryside and footpaths will be the same. Things do not change that quickly here.
https://www.cnig.es/cambiarIdioma.do?lang=en
Maps can be bought in Cáceres from G.I.S. IBERICA, S.L., Av. Hernán Cortés, 3, Local Bajo Derecha, 10001 (Cáceres).
www.gisiberica.com
Maps can also be obtained in the U.K. from Stanfords,
www.stanfords.co.uk
Definitions of often-used phrases in the route descriptions
Lane — usually in a reasonable condition made of concrete or compacted dirt. Normally near a population centre and for lots of users; vehicles, horses, bikes, people.
Track — made of almost anything and definitely in the countryside. It is wide enough for transport suitable for the terrain, plus horses, bikes and people.
Path — anything from granite paved or rocky to grassy or dirt. Much narrower than a lane or track and for horses, donkeys and people.
Stream bed — might be dry or very wet depending on the rainfall during the previous winter.
Flowering bushes — generally lavender, cistus, broom and retama.
Wall — dry stone wall unless otherwise stated.
In season — exactly that. The promise of spring flowers is not possible in the autumn.
Top photo: Outside Robledillo de Trujillo in May (Walk 20 'The Sierras of Extremadura')