San Martin de Trevejo
At the vertex they form Portugal and Salamanca and rivaling in beauty and magic with the Hurdes or the Jerte, the Sierra de Gata claims its place on the map with a varied tourist offer, modern and, at the same time, so attractive and different that it wins more and more followers. Beautiful valleys with leafy slopes alternate with mountain areas of pine, oak and chestnut forests. Olive trees, oaks and fruit trees They end up forming a landscape that houses, say the locals, one of the last homes of the wolf and the Iberian lynx. the black vulture (the largest bird in Europe) , the black stork and the golden eagle they also chose the Sierra de Gata to stay.
Sierra de Gata
The olive oil with denomination of origin It is of outstanding quality and can be bought in all the towns in the region. Its wine and goat and sheep cheeses are essential if you want to savor what Sierra de Gata tastes like. The rural houses have flourished like the rockrose in recent years with the arrival of more and more visitors.
With great satisfaction its inhabitants have seen how the number of visitors has grown in the last year. The economic benefit and a feeling of pride are mixed with the strong roots that extend throughout the Sierra, in a landscape of water, olive trees and mountains.
In the path
VALVERDE DEL FRESNO
Valverde del Fresno is the largest town in the Sierra . Attached to Portugal, only separated by the Sierra de Malvana, it was for years the capital of smuggling. Its main charm consists of entering any bar at the time of the beers or in one of those autumn sunsets in which the neighbors hit the strand while rinse the throat with the last carajillo . You have to stick your elbowed ear to the bar to hear a sound that mixes the pronunciation of Leonese and the sing-song tone of Portuguese. To Fala It is the language spoken in these lands. It is not a linguistic relic or an attraction for tourists, but rather a language of the Valley of the Xalima: San Martín de Trevejo (Sa Martín de Trevellu), Eljas (As Ellas) and Valverde (Valverdi du Fresnu).
Many years ago, access to this mountainous area was very difficult and for a long time there was no contact with populations other than the neighboring Portuguese. Currently the inhabitants of this geographic triangle are bilingual : they use Spanish for administrative procedures and Fala in their daily lives. Don't cut yourself, stick your ear out and then jump into the conversation. You will have no choice but to discover that no matter how far you are in Extremadura, you won't find out about it.
Access to these mountains was difficult: now they are perfect for walking in silence
In Valverde we also find some of the best accommodation in the area. An old textile factory converted into a rural hotel with its own personality. In A Velha Fabrica were made wool, oil and other manufactures but it was also used by smugglers. Its facilities are comfortable and tastefully evoke that era.
Sleep in an old wool and oil factory
CHOOSE
After 12 kilometers of winding road we arrive at Eljas . The trip is worth it to enjoy an amazing and unique landscape. Eljas is a town in Sierra de Gata literally hanging on the slopes of the Central System. It is one of the towns with the best views. From here the Sierra is immense, unfathomable, dense and of a thousand different colors . The “lizards” they made their own monument to smuggling.
During the mid-20th century it was the main economic activity in the area. The transit of people and goods between Spain and Portugal was prohibited, which is more than enough reason why, in this border area, its inhabitants put special interest in passing everything that was demanded from extraperlo: tobacco, spirits, coffee, bras, slippers, candies... They were a kind of Curros Jimenez a la Extremadura who ran real adventures on horseback with the Civil Guard or the Guardinhas following their heels. to feel a smuggler, Angel , the owner of San Miguel Riding School recreates, under the light of the moon, the same routes that those budding exporters took to alleviate the scarcity of the inhabitants of the valley and, incidentally, that of their pockets.
Eljas river valley
SAN MARTIN DE TREVEJO
just for his boigas , its steep streets where the water runs and smells like a brazier of picón or its spectacular landscapes of chestnut trees, Saint Martin of Trevejo It is one of the jewels in the crown of the Sierra de Gata. In the heat of a good wine it is possible listen to legends and tales that slow down time . Like the one that tells that on the nights of San Juan the young mañegus who were looking for a girlfriend would congregate in the square, surrounding the pylon that continues to dominate the center of San Martín today. Each of them carried an egg and a glass of water. When twelve o'clock struck, they broke the eggs and emptied them into the glass. Depending on how white and yolk were transformed, it was said that the future of the boys would be at sea, on land, in the army or in a convent.
Very close to the square, in one of those streets so characteristic of San Martin with houses with three pedestals adorned with flowerpots, is the Boiga (Winery) of Cumias . Its owner, Julián, less than 40 years old, is a well of knowledge about what to know and what not to know in the Sierra de Gata. Let's say that Julián makes Extremaduran nationalism from the bar of his boiga. Here he drinks wine in cellars made of slate stone and wood. Entering the boiga is opening the door to a museum in which Julián is the curator. The works of art: jars, pitarras, botillos or farm implements that become familiar after 3 wines.
San Martin de Trevejo
And it is that San Martín de Trevejo is famous for its wines. In fact, November 11 is celebrated San Martino , a day in which all the boigas open and distribute free wine. In San Martín there is room for one winery per dozen inhabitants, it is no coincidence that in the past it was called San Martín de los Vinos.
With or without wine you have to walk through its cobbled streets , dodging the continuous stream of water that always goes downstream. In this way, the rainwater was used by the neighbors to irrigate the orchards that each one had in the patio of their house. The roofs seem to kiss from how close they are, curved to avoid the accumulation of snow but also so that the shade is projected at any time of the day and the sun does not affect the wine, stored in the boigas built on the ground floor of the houses. .
TREVEJO
There's only one bar, no doctor, no grocery store , the neighbors greet you when you arrive and when you leave, and but that is precisely where its charm lies. Trevejo is like the Gallic village of Asterix : a handful of neighbors resisting progress, an excuse like any other to emigrate. They still preserve the essence of what was once a hamlet with a splendid castle, today with a somewhat dilapidated profile that gives it an irresistible appeal. Its few neighbors can enjoy something that the rest of the inhabitants of the Sierra de Gata cannot: the astonished faces of the tourists when they approach their town . The calm and peace of this town makes it ideal to locate the base camp to move around Sierra de Gata. A Fala Apartments It offers all the comforts of the 21st century in a town lost in the middle of the mountains, and may it continue like this for a long time because let's say that in Trevejo there is little to see but much to discover.
There is only one bar here, no doctor or shops
GATA'S ROBLEDILLO
The furthest and most hidden of the towns in the Sierra is the one that best preserves the architectural "typical" of the area. Gata's Robledillo he is a traditionalist by tradition and training . Balconies and viewpoints in streets that go up and down at the same time. Sunlight penetrates where it can and produces forms that accompany the traveler. The same expressions that have inspired dozens of painters. Perhaps because in its streets it preserves the mountain authenticity It has become the most visited town in the area. Or perhaps for that reason, the authorities have made more of an effort than the rest to preserve its essence. The whole town is a surprise every corner exudes mystery . It is visited quickly but to enjoy it you have to stop in bars and cafes and feel how time passes more slowly . Everything is taken care of in detail, in winter and summer. Like good fossils, those that manage to provide information, the poor access to Robledillo and its location at the most isolated end of the Sierra has made it almost unalterable.
Gata's Robledillo
OUT OF MENU
And since not everything is going to be kicking and contemplating, the Sierra de Gata also contains small gastronomic temples that do not have Michelin stars but that comfort the traveler in the best possible way.
**- Style ** (Avenida Extremadura, 34, Villabuenas de Gata). Behind this somewhat outmoded name we find a restaurant that represents haute cuisine in the high mountains. Located in Villabuenas de Gata , its menu of the day contains modern cuisine dishes with ingredients from the land. Good presentation and better taste . The menus cost between 10 and 12 euros. In Madrid and Barcelona they could well ask for 40 or 45. You have to try the roasted vegetables with ham, grilled lagarto (pork) or the foie and mango salad. Ideal to go with family.
- ** Peña del Fraile Grill ** _(Crta. Hervás-Valverde del Fresno, Cruce de Cadalso, Santibañez el Alto) _. Chickpeas, lentils and of course everything you can imagine grilled. Highly recommend the leg of lamb that makes it very juicy . The place is also worth visiting, an old renovated stable in which no detail is lacking. Better to book so as not to wait forever to be served.
- Innocent Bar _(Francisco Pizarro, 32, Valverde del Fresno) _. For those who cannot do without seafood, the Inocencio bar is the reference for price and quality. In addition to the typical products of the area, in this bar in Valverde del Fresno you can taste perfectly fresh seafood. It is also advisable to book in advance.
- The portals (Stonestone, 12, Cat) . Real tapas bar . Morros, omelette, bacon, mushrooms, Russian steaks… free with a pitarra wine or a beer. Yes, as you read it. But there is no gastronomic offer left because Los Portales are specialists in mushrooms that can be eaten in cream, with stew, with piquillo peppers and other combinations.
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Gata's Robledillo