The Northern Valleys

The valleys of Ambroz, Jerte and La Vera stretch southward together from Extremadura’s northern border with Salamanca. Each has its own characteristic landscape and wildlife, though they all share the color green and occasionally exceptional views of snow-capped peaks. Scattered among them are small villages – some at the base of terraced hills, others on the banks of rivers – that have, for the most part, been left to their own toil through the years. Local handicrafts are still prevalent and a boost to village economics. Poor rural farmers are sustained by the goats that will end up in carnicerías and restaurants across the region.

The Valle de Ambroz is the westernmost of the three and well known for its therapeutic waters and ancient oak and chestnut groves. Jerte is the central valley that begins at the southwestern foothills of the Sierra de Gredos climbing into Salamanca. Its terrain is more rugged as it declines to the River Jerte running through the center. Gorges and waterfalls abound. La Vera is the easternmost valley and popularly recognized as the final residence of the Emperor Carlos V. Here you will find forests of oak and poplar trees, tobacco plants and chilies hung out to dry before they are turned into paprika.

Into the Valle del Jerte

From Palencia, head north up the N-110 as it follows the River Jerte most of the way to its source near Extremadura’s northern border. This route cuts straight through the Valle del Jerte, with the Valle del Ambroz to the west and the Valle de La Vera to the east.

Into La Vera Valley

From La Garganta de los Infiernes, it is possible to pick up the Route of Emperor Carlos V (Carlos I in Spain) on your own and follow it to Jarandilla de La Vera on foot. To do it on horseback from Cabezuella del Valle to Jarandilla de La Vera it’ll cost 45i and take two days, with a stay-over in a casa rural along the way. On your own, start out from the village of Tornavacas at the northern end of the park – the path is well signposted all the way.

Here Carlos V (-V as emperor of Germany; -I as king of Spain) stopped to rest in late 1556 en route to the monastery outside the village of Cuacos in what would amount to his last trip and his own personal exile. Once the most powerful leader in the world, by this time he had abdicated the throne to Felipe II and was a shade of his former self, constantly bothered by gout and with only a few years to go, which he intended to enjoy in leisure. He had controlled the Low Countries, much of Italy, France and northern Africa, had seen Spain’s universities attain world preeminence, had amassed the greatest armada and army, all with the immense wealth that came from having conquered the New World. But ultimately he would leave Spain – where he had in fact spent very little time in during his reign as king from 1519 to 1555 – in the economic wastebasket.

Into the Ambroz Valley

On return to Cabezuela del Valle, take the N-360 west to reach the Baños de Montemayor. You’ll pass through the beautiful snowy mountain pass of Puerto de Honduras and the town of Hervás. Here the old Jewish quarter, a packed neighborhood of three-story brick homes with pitched tile roofs, has been declared an Archaeological Conservation Area. The Palacio de los Dávila is an 18th-century Baroque mansion now home to the Museo de Pérez Comendador-Leroux and the Museo de Motocicletas Classicas. Admission is free to both, with the former housing the sculptural works of Enrique Pérez Comendador and the pictorial works of his French wife, Magdalena Leroux. The latter houses a large collection of classic motorcycles.