PRIVATE MULTI-DAY TOUR: WILDLIFE WATCHING IN EXTREMADURA, 8 DAYS

 8 days, 7 nights, when you decide!

Dramatic landscapes, flora and fauna, expert guides. Comfortable hotels with charm and history. Excellent Extremeñan food and wines.

Under 3 hours’ drive from Madrid, nestled on the border with Portugal, Extremadura offers diverse and sumptuous landscapes.

This privately guided trip takes guests to see one of the world’s best examples of mediterranean forests. It also has the largest concentration of birds of prey in the world. You’ll get to visit the flora and fauna of the Monfragüe National Park, the Jerte Valley, the Ambroz Valley and the Vera. With wildlife watching as the focus, guests opt for as much or as little walking as they wish.

As one of the most important Special Protection Areas in Europe, bird-watching in the Monfragüe National Park will give you the opportunity to see the black vultures, black storks, the Iberian imperial Eagle, the Common Elanio and the Alimoche against the rugged rock formations of the Peña Falcón. Walk through the centennial cork forests in the afternoon and then finish the day with a rustic sunset dinner of artisan Extremeñan goodies from the jeep while deer-watching. Lucky guests are likely to hear the impressive bellowing of deers in autumn.

Visit the Jerte Valley known for its 2 million cherry trees planted on steep mountain terraces, and its forests of chestnut trees dating back to the 12th century. Our guide takes you to Jerte’s gorges, valleys and streams. Spend an afternoon on the dehesa pasture to visit the black Iberian pigs, the achilles’ heel to the meat-eating Spaniard. Learn about the breeding and (if appealing) take a private visit to see how the meat is cured with tastings to follow.

You’ll spend 3 nights in the Romanesque walled city of Plasencia (for easy access to day-time pursuits), and a night in Hervás (a small picturesque town at the foot of the Ambroz Valley with one of the best preserved Jewish quarters in Spain). From here, you can walk through the largest chestnut forest in Extremadura, before then going on to la Vera. This is situated at the foot of the Gredos mountains by the Tietar river, home to the highly sought-after pimentón de la Vera (the humble spice, paprika). 

2 nights in Jarandilla de la Vera at the 15th-century fortified Palace Parador de Jarandilla de la Vera. Visit Charles V’s chosen resting place, the simple Yuste Monastery, along with the picturesque medieval towns of Garganta de Olla and Cuacos de Yuste.