By vehicle and on foot
Asphalt, dirt track and path
Bird habitats you will find in this area:
We begin in the town of Herrera de Alcántara, specifically on the banks of the Tagus River at the Fishermen’s Houses, where the dock of the Balcón del Tajo tourist boat is located and the highly recommended Mari Loza botanical trail begins, which allows you to explore the spectacular riparian vegetation. On the way up to Herrera there is a viewpoint next to the road (o.p. 01) that overlooks the valley and the magnificent, shaded slopes that surrounds it, with the masses of strawberry tree, viburnam, false olive and olive groves on terraces that makes this a good place to see Song Thrush, Hawfinch and Eurasian Bullfinch, mainly in autumn and winter.
After passing through Herrera de Alcántara we continue towards Santiago de Alcántara crossing narrow valleys such as the Aurela (o.p. 02) that twists between slate hillsides where you can find Black Wheatear and other species such as Iberian Magpie and Thekla Lark. Once in Santiago, leaving the town on the Carbajo road, we soon take a track to the left that will take us to the Las Viñas area (PR-CC 96 trail) where, after parking in the parking lot provided for this, we can ascend to a spectacular observation tower (o.p. 03) to admire the interesting landscape of the International Tagus (to enter the tower you must request the key in advance at the El Péndere interpretation centre in Santiago) as well as birds of prey such as Golden, Bonelli’s, Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Cinereous, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures. Then we descend on foot to the viewpoint located on the riverbank (o.p. 04) to watch Griffon and Egyptian Vultures and Black Storks on the cliffs above the river .
Returning to Santiago we follow the signs for Batán from the Buraco tourist complex to reach on foot (1.3 km) the Los Barreros cliffs (o.p. 05) where there is a large colony of Griffon Vultures and where Blue Rock Thrush, Crag Martin and, with luck, Bonelli’s Eagle can be seen. We finish the route on foot (2.5 km) ascending to the Buraco rock shelter (o.p. 06) where, in addition to its rock paintings and the spectacular views of this border region, you can see the same species as at the previous point.
Dolmens: we can learn about their relevance in the region by visiting the interpretation centre about megaliths in Santiago de Alcántara and visit nearby the Lagunita dolmens.
Valencia de Alcántara: historical complex that houses the Jewish Gothic neighbourhood, synagogue, fortress and temple of Rocamador.
The deer rut: the spectacular rut of the deer in early autumn.
Balcón del Tajo Boat: tourist boat that runs through part of the natural park. Starting points in Cedillo and Herrera de Alcántara.
Birds that remain in the territory all year round.
Breeding birds that stay in the territory during spring and summer, migrating to their wintering grounds at the end of summer.
Birds that do not breed in Extremadura but spend the autumn and winter months here.
Birds that use the region as a stopover area, migrating from their breeding grounds north of Extremadura to their wintering areas further south.
