Halfway between Madrid and Badajoz lies the La Siberia Biosphere Reserve
There is a place where Extremadura moves away from clichés to become an environment of unique natural values, with a spectacular cultural heritage and a gastronomy that is a constant surprise. The Siberian Biosphere Reserve is Extremadura, but as you have never imagined it.
Almost halfway between Madrid and Badajoz extends a territory of meadows, reservoirs and mountains; of oaks, rock castles and towns steeped in history. They are the lands of the La Siberia Biosphere Reserve, an area of unusual natural values that is a constant surprise for the traveler.
An area of unusual natural values that is a constant surprise for the traveler
Because in In Siberia you can only expect the unexpected. Here the changing landscape, capable of transforming itself in a few kilometers transporting you from the mountains to the plains, from towns with history to isolated hamlets, will hook you kilometer by kilometer, bend by bend of each of its roads; convincing you at every step that you are going through a place that is unlike any other.
Here, on the territory of the biosphere reserve, two worlds converge. To the north the mountains of Toledo, to the south the immense plains of the Guadiana. And in the middle, entering Castilla-La Mancha like a wedge, a region that adds elements of these landscapes to shape a character that differentiates it from any other region.
GREEN AND BLUE
They are the colors that dominate the Siberian landscape, those that define the values that have earned it recognition as a biosphere reserve, a territory with particularly well-preserved natural values, in which reservoirs, pastures, mountains and farmland follow one another dotted with small towns.
Green, because in a large part of the reserve the forest is king. You just have to climb one of the hills, climb to the viewpoints and castles built on the summits to discover to what extent this is true.
Green and blue are the colors that dominate the Siberian landscape
Blue, because Badajoz is the inland province with the most kilometers of coastline, the sweet coast in this case. And La Siberia, with the Guadiana river and its five reservoirs, has a lot to do with this.
The territory of the reserve is an infinite succession of small inland seas with islands, capes and bays where the beach, water sports and restaurants from which to enjoy the sunset reflected in the water find a perfect location. A swim, a sailing course and then a cocktail in a bar by the shore, although 400 kilometers from the sea? In La Siberia everything is possible.
THE INFINITE FOREST
The meadows of the plain gradually close in, sharing the space with rockroses and aromatic plants, as you move towards the mountains. Olive and fruit trees are left behind, while the valleys are closed with vegetation as they ascend through the mountains. The landscape changes almost at every step.
It's the perfect setting for discover prehistoric settlements or five-thousand-year-old dolmens through hiking trails. From the castro del Muro, near Helechosa de Los Montes, to the cave paintings of La Panda, in Herrera del Duque, and from there to Cerro de La Barca or the impressive site of Lacimurga, traversing thousands of years of history on each trail.
The landscape changes with every step
Although the jewel in the crown is the Valdecaballeros dolmen, an exceptional megalithic tholos that also allows archaeoastronomy activities to be carried out.
The forest, however, hides many other surprises in the Siberian Biosphere Reserve. It is discovered by those who enter it at the end of summer to enjoy a unique show: the bellowing of the deer. But also who walks his paths in autumn to the wild mushroom hunting , who chooses one of the many MTB itineraries or who travels leisurely paths like the pilgrimage route to Guadalupe, the Collado de los Alguaciles or the Sendero de La Muela, in the heart of the Cíjara regional hunting reserve.
Or, perhaps already in spring, who wander aimlessly identifying wild plants that once cured and satisfied hunger, a way of approaching the past of the region through its nature.
Forests that reach the gates of towns such as Helechosa de los Montes, Villarta de los Montes or Fuenlabrada de los Montes; that climb the slopes, that cling to the rocks flown over by vultures, eagles and hawks and they become unique scenarios for bird watching.
The jewel in the crown is the Valdecaballeros dolmen, an exceptional megalithic tholos
THE COZIEST SIBERIA
Not everything is, however, endless landscapes, perspectives that are lost in the horizon and endless horizons. The biosphere reserve is also a living place. This is precisely one of the great values of this figure of protection: the ability to combine natural values and sustainable human action that respects the ecosystem.
It is something that the traveler discovers when he passes through Fuenlabrada de los Montes, where honey has been a source of work for centuries but also a culture. Or when he walks the streets of places like Puebla de Alcocer, Villarta de los Montes or Tamurejo, dedicated to working in the fields.
They are quiet towns, where the everyday coexists with the extraordinary, with castles such as Herrera del Duque, with convents such as La Visitación in Puebla de Alcocer or churches such as Altagracias in Helechosa. Places where you can let yourself go, without hurry, to soak up the atmosphere at every step.
Places where you can discover squares, corners where history seems to have crystallized; chapels, alleys, perspectives that suddenly open up towards the forest, towards a castle on top of a peak or towards a reservoir. The surprise, here, may be just around the corner.
The villages of the La Siberia Biosphere Reserve are also the place to immerse yourself in a unique gastronomy, in dishes with names that resonate with ancient echoes, elaborations that are not known just a few kilometers away. Specialties that, on occasion, can be discovered in a single town.
The hunting kitchen is the queen. It could not be otherwise in a place that, like this, breathes nature. Stews, stews and jerky coexist, on the menu of the food houses, with recipes such as the Peloche fish escarapuche, a single dish. Or meats that can be tried, for example, in Herrera.
Quiet towns, where the everyday coexists with the extraordinary
Let's search Castilblanco cheese, already cited more than a century ago among the most famous in Spain, and explore Siberian soups: tomato, Siberian ajoblanco. Or discover why the migas are, here, something very special.
And you have to end up leaving room for the sweet, one of the great cultural riches of the reserve; a recipe book that adapts to the year and that changes with the seasons with sweets that are linked to parties and that have been passed down from generation to generation from times of which memory is no longer preserved.
Candelilla, chaquetías, bodigos, sepulturas, joints, almonds, courgette tails… Names that evoke other times and that have been able to keep alive a tradition that has its roots in a multicultural past, in peoples that crossed the transit area or settled in it to contribute to their culture.
The Siberian Biosphere Reserve is much more than nature. It is a territory with a fascinating culture in which there is no rush or overcrowding; a space that moves away from clichés by dint of personality, capable of surprising with landscapes, monuments and flavors. It is a world on a small scale, a place anchored in surprise that remains forever with those who pass through it, to remind them that unexpected places still exist and that they are there, closer than we imagine.