WEEKEND EXCURSIONS

A DAY OUT IN THE NORTHERN BORDER AREA, THE “RAYA”

This itinerary through “La Raya” (“the Border”) in the north of Extremadura allows us to get to know a variety of surprising landscapes dominated by oak forests and the riverside areas around the Tagus and the Gévora Rivers.

AN ITINERARY FOR TOURISTS

En route to Alburquerque and very close to Badajoz we find the village of Bótoa where the famous Procession (Romería) of the Virgin of Bótoa is held on the Sunday following Resurrection Sunday. It attracts tens of thousands of people to this area which is full of oak groves. The Parish Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario dates back to the 16th century and on the outskirts of the village there is also the Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Rivera where the famous procession takes place.

Alburquerque awaits us a little further to the north in the foothills of the San Pedro Mountain Range, with its impressive Castillo de Luna, built in the 14th century and still in a good state of conservation, even its striking homage tower. The castle is the venue for medieval tours in the month of August. Some parts of the town’s original walls are still standing, for example the area known as “la Villa".

Bathed by the waters of the Gévora River, La Codosera is surrounded by numerous hamlets set in areas of outstanding natural beauty. This border locality is the site of an interesting castle which stands in the upper part of the village, just beside an image of the Heart of Jesus.

San Vicente de Alcántara is situated between mountain ranges and rolling pastures of holm and cork oak groves; the village is the centre of an important cork producing industry which has made it worthy of the title “Cork Capital”. The Classicist style Paris Church of San Vicente Mártir dates back to the 16th century. The municipality is rich in dolmens and it is well worth while following some of the signposted itineraries or visiting the nearby 14th century Piedrabuena Castle, the seat of the Order of Alcántara.

A few kilometres further north, once again set amongst oak groves, we come upon Valencia de Alcántara which looks out from a not inconsiderable hilltop. The village’s perfectly conserved, easy to visit and well signposted dolmens have made its megalithic legacy an obligatory visit for lovers of prehistoric remains. In the village itself there is the majestic Church of Nuestra Señora de Rocamador, declared a Monument of Historic and Artistic Interest. It was built between the 15th and the 16th centuries and was the church where Isabel, the daughter of the Catholic Kings, would marry Manuel the Fortunate, King of Portugal, in 1497. One of the most attractive and best conserved Gothic quarters of all Spain is to be found here in Valencia de Alcántara, with its abundance of arched doorways. The Church La Encarnación was built in the Renaissance fashion and has a Gothic facade.

                        Church of Nuestra Señora de Rocamador

The border (“la Raya”) with Portugal is very close to Valencia de Alcántara and some nearby hamlets border onto the neighbouring region of Alentejo. Such is the case of La Fontanera, La Aceña de la Borrega, Las Lanchuelas, Alcorneo and Jola which boasts some of the most attractive countryside in all Extremadura, populated by corn oaks, pine trees and beautiful dolmens. The neighbouring San Pedro Mountain Range has been declared a Special Conservation Area.

We head north from Valencia de Alcántara and pass through the hamlet of Solana which is just a short distance from Cedillo. The most westerly village in all Extremadura, in the vicinity of Alcántara, it sits on the banks of the Tagus which serves as a beautiful and natural frontier with Portugal.

Some 5 kilometres from Cedillo is Herrera de Alcántara where the Tagus flows along, hemmed in beautifully by scrublands and rolling hills which make this one of the most attractive spots in this border area. The 16th century Parish Church of San Sebastián was built from masonry in the Baroque style.

Further west we come to Santiago de Alcántara. In the surrounding area and more particularly in a place called La Cueva del Borrico (The Donkey’s Cave) there are schematic cave paintings. The most important construction is the Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de La Consolación, from the 15th century.

On our way to Membrío and Alcántara we pass through Carbajo, at the foot of the Santiago Mountain Range. In this village there is an interesting Baroque construction from the 16th century, the Parish Church of Santa Marina, built beside the Plaza Mayor (Main Square) in the shape of a Latin cross.

Continuing on towards the San Pedro Mountain Range we come upon Membrío which is almost on the very border, set amongst the foothills of the mountains. Its interesting Baroque style Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de Gracia was built in the 16th century and stands out against the white houses scattered over the countryside.

On the banks of the Tagus we discover historic Alcántara, which possesses many testaments to its historic past which show how this area was occupied in prehistoric times and then by the Romans and the Arabs. Within the village the Convent of San Benito stands out. Built in the 16th century by the Order of Alcántara on the site of an earlier Arab fortress, it contains an attractive Gothic cloister.

Close by is the village of Ceclavín, famous for its silverware and its magnificent ceramic and pottery craftsmen. It has a majestic Plaza Mayor (Main Square) and an interesting ecclesiastical building, that of the Parish Church of the Assumption, known as Nuestra Señora de Los Apóstoles, built between the 15th and the 16th centuries. It contains an excellent major altarpiece. Leaving Ceclavín behind we pass through Cilleros en route to Valverde del Fresno, situated in the Gata Mountain Range, the last village on our itinerary and an important mountain retreat for the Iberian lynx.

GASTRONOMY

Home made pastries in Alburquerque and Alcántara. Game, partridge and rabbit dishes in Alcántara. Lamb and mountain goat stews everywhere along the itinerary. Home made cold cuts.

                                  Partridges cooks as Alcántara mode

HANDICRAFTS

Cork handicrafts in San Vicente de Alcántara and Valencia de Alcántara. Ceramics and silverware in Ceclavín.

FESTIVITIES

The San Isidro Procession in Valencia de Alcántara has been declared of interest as a Regional Tourist Attraction. The Alcántara Theatre Festival in the month of August. The Virgin of Bótoa Procession in May. The Medieval Festival in Alburquerque in August.

NATURE AND COUNTRYSIDE

Mountain land predominates, with an abundance of oak groves. This is a magnificent habitat for birds of prey which live and soar amongst the forests along the itinerary.

The cork harvest changes the colour of the trunks of the abundant cork oaks which accompany us through a good part of this itinerary and continue further on along both sides of the border, amidst majestic pastures and forests. The San Pedro Mountain Range and the Tagus International are highly valuable areas for fauna such as the imperial eagle, the lynx, the wolf or the black stork.