Extremadura
Cycling route for a great nature and culture holiday
Extremadura is a region with many attractions: beautiful towns, an rich history as roman province and cradle of conquistadores, varied landscapes and wonderful nature. In particular, it is a major international destination for bird watchers.
With so much to see, instead of proposing a long tour, we have chosen to suggest only the, for cyclists, best continuous stretch of quiet, scenic roads in the region. You can then combine our tour with other visits or activities. On your bike during the rides, you’ll enjoy peaceful little roads as they thread their way through sierras, valleys and lovely nature. Between stages, you’ll stay in engrossing historic places and charming little villages.
The stunning scenery comes of course with quite a few moderate climbs and one very steep of 3 km on a concrete path. But without traffic and in such marvelous environment, you won’t mind at all stepping down and pushing your bike slowly up the hill, and in so doing, enjoying your surroundings for longer.
Cáceres and Trujillo
Very quiet little roads through beautiful nature and scenery
Great variety of trees, flowers and birds
Remote but major place of pilgrimage Guadalupe
Comfortable and varied accommodations
![Start1](https://biketourinspain.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Start1.jpg)
starting
Each Sunday (day 1 in itinerary) mid-March to mid-June and September to November
Cycling level
3 Moderate.
Mostly undulating and hilly, with some moderately mountainous terrain and a little flat. Average 50 km/day
Accommodation
Two paradors, two good city hotels and two b&b’s in villages. All with en-suite facilities
Roads, aprox.:
- 230 km (144 miles) Tarmac
- 10 km (6 miles) Via Verde cycleway on former rail track
- 10 km (6 miles) Unsurfaced road
Itinerary
![Icon-rut2](https://biketourinspain.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Icon-rut2.png)
Sunday
Arrival in Cáceres from Seville and Mérida
From the centre of Seville you can take the bus or train to Mérida (around € 18/25 and 3 hours travel)
Or you can book a taxi transfer with us, € 290 for up to four people.
Mérida was capital of a Roman province and is much worth spending the Saturday walking around and visiting its monuments.
Then Sunday it’s just € 8 and 50′ travel on the train to Cáceres.
See for buses www.alsa.com and for trains www.renfe.com
You can also rent an Europcar in Seville with drop-off Cáceres for about € 210 two days.
The walled old centre of Cáceres, built on a hill, is a magnificently preserved early renaissance town: there are lots of handsome palaces, churches, monasteries, hidden courtyards… a walk through its maze of alleys, squares and passageways is going back to the 15th century.
Excellent descriptions of walks in Mérida, Cáceres and Trujillo on the site of Gisela Radant: walkingextremadura.com/city-walks
Arrival from Madrid or after the Ruta de Don Quijote
From Madrid there are about four trains a day to Cáceres. Approximately 4 hours travel and € 34. For this traject you need to buy the e-tickets at least three weeks in advance at www.renfe.com
You can also combine this trip brilliantly with the Ruta de Don Quijote: after completing Don Quijote, you take on Saturday the train of 15:35 hours from Alcázar de San Juan to Mérida, 6 hours 40′ and € 30 (you see a big chunk of the expansive interior or Spain from your window!) You sleep in Mérida and on Sunday the train to Cáceres is 50′ travel and € 8. See www.renfe.com
26 miles/45 km 500↑m to Trujillo
The bike tour starts with a fairly easy, straightforward stage. You ride most of it on the old main road, which is now just about deserted, given that most vehicles choose for the new motorway.
The stage leaves plenty of time and energy for exploring your destination: Trujillo, a little town which bloomed in the 16th century with the treasures brought home by several of America’s conquistadores. On a hill dominating the surrounding plateau, its defensive walls, ancient mansions, palaces and garden areas leading up to its castle provide for a very enjoyable walk. Sitting for dinner in its wonderful Plaza Mayor completes a perfect evening.
34 miles/56 km 820↑m to Berzocana
The second day en route is more demanding and has two different parts: first you cycle through the ‘Llanos de Belén’ an undulating steppe well known among bird watchers. Even without their binoculars you’ll see plenty of birds typical of this terrain, with a bit of luck including Montagu’s harrier and both the little as the big bustard.
Once past the only village in the stage, it gets more hilly and you enter the ‘dehesas’ the classic environment of this region. Dehesas are light forest of holm- or cork oaks serving as pastureland. They provide an ideal habitat for both cattle as wildlife. Keep your eyes peeled for some of the later crossing the road ahead, as the sizable bright-green lizard or the Egyptian mongoose, with its low, dark profile; while colourful birds as roller, bee-eater or hoopoe fladder around. Destination is a quiet village in a great setting, midway up the flanks of the sierra.
20 miles/32 km 780↑m to Guadalupe
This is when it really gets spectacular: after a first stretch ascending gradually on a scenic road, you turn into a very steep concrete road/path. On this, except for e-bikes or climbing heroes, it’s about 3 km of push-bike: first through lush Mediterranean forest, higher up along broom and heather to the top of the sierra. There follows a long descent, with birds of prey above and enjoying wide views. A final dive takes you into the village of Guadalupe. In the afternoon you can visit its impressive cloister, a place of pilgrimage for the whole Spanish-speaking world.
24 miles/39 km 790↑m to Navatrasierra
After a short climb back out of the Guadalupe valley, you ride on a undulating road covering easy miles. Then, turning into a smaller, very peaceful road, you start the delightful climb and descent of the Alto del Hospital. Up through lovely forest, down into a remote valley covered in rockrose bushes and dense copses of strawberry trees. Much of this goes through a nature- and hunting reserve, with beautiful cork oaks at every bend and red deer a fairly common sight along the road.
The first inhabited place you’ll find in this stage is also your destination: Navatrasierra, a simple but charming village of mostly pensioners tending to their orchards and vegetable plots
46 miles/75 km 600↑m to Talavera de la Reina
The longest stage but with the most flat terrain and very varied. It starts with a fairly gentle ascent to the last mountain pass in the tour. You then leave the sierra’s of Extremadura behind and enter lower, drier lands in the province of Toledo, cycling through a mix of dehesa, scrubland and Mediterranean ‘maquis’ bush. After crossing another remote area you reach a ‘Via Verde’ cycle path on a former railway which takes you to great views of the river Tagus’ valley.
Final destination is Talavera de la Reina, known for its ceramics, of which you can visit a museum, and a lively, unassuming town with no tourists. Perfect to celebrate the completion of this fantastic ride in some of its many bars, with moderate prices and courtesy tapa’s served with each drink.
Train to Madrid or bus to Toledo
From Talavera de la Reina you can take:
The train to Madrid (1 hour 30′, +/- € 17) There are several departures each day but because they are often full, you are advised to buy the e-tickets at least three weeks in advance at www.renfe.com
Or, just for visiting or maybe to start the Don Quijote tour: the bus to Toledo (1 hour 20′, +/- € 9) In this case, tickets can be bought in the bus station just before depart, see ww.autocarestoletum.es for departure times
Price per person, on double room basis: € 760
Included
- 6 nights hotel accommodation
- 4 x buffet breakfast and 2 x continental breakfast
- Route description in English, maps and GPS tracks. All sent digitally to your e-mail address.
- Luggage transport
- Telephone assistance
Excluded: all items not mentioned in ‘included’ above
Options and supplements
- Rental bicycle, trekking hybrid………………….. €95
- Rental e-bike …………………………………………. €190
-
- Supplement for single room ……………… €280
- Extra nights quoted upon request
- Transfer Seville-Mérida, up to 4 pax … €290
-
Rental bikes delivered with one panier, small handlebar bag, repair set, pump and lock. If not bringing your own, you can rent a helmet at the start of the route for € 20
This offer is covered by the STO Garant guarantee.
You can find the conditions for this guarantee scheme on STO Garant’s website (www.sto-garant.nl/en/downloads)