Las Hurdes and Sierra de Gata: Spain's Most Remote Corner

Las Hurdes is the most remote and least visited comarca in all of peninsular Spain. Tucked into the north of Cáceres province, between the Sierra de Francia (Salamanca) and the Sierra de Gata, it is a labyrinth of narrow, deep valleys carved by rivers that form crystal-clear natural pools, with slate villages clinging to the hillsides that for centuries were almost completely cut off from the rest of the country. Luis Buñuel filmed his documentary "Tierra sin Pan" (Land Without Bread) here in 1933, one of the most powerful films in Spanish cinema, which portrayed extreme poverty in a region that seemed to belong to another century.

The roads of Las Hurdes are both a challenge and a delight for the experienced rider. The CC-156, climbing from Pinofranqueado to Las Mestas through the valley of the Río Hurdano, is narrow, technical, with extremely tight bends and no guardrails on many stretches — but the scenery is superb: slate hillsides blanketed with centuries-old chestnut trees, the river glinting at the bottom of the gorge, and an absolute solitude that feels almost mystical. The Hurdano villages — El Gasco, Martilandrán, Riomalo de Abajo — are tiny hamlets of 10 to 30 inhabitants where time seems to have stood still.

The Sierra de Gata, west of Las Hurdes, is another forgotten comarca with extraordinary heritage. Its villages — San Martín de Trevejo, Trevejo, Robledillo de Gata — preserve stone-and-timber architecture classified as a Bien de Interés Cultural. In San Martín de Trevejo, people still speak "a fala", a medieval Romance language related to Galician-Portuguese that survives in only three villages of this sierra. The road that climbs to the Castillo de Trevejo, perched on a granite crag with views into Portugal, is one of the most spectacular in all of Extremadura.

The natural pools of Las Hurdes and the Sierra de Gata are one of the great secrets of the Spanish summer. The Río Los Ángeles at Las Mestas, the Charco de la Olla at Caminomorisco, and the gorges of the Sierra de Gata form natural swimming holes of cold, transparent water surrounded by oak and chestnut forests — the perfect counterpoint to the Extremaduran heat. In June, the wild cherries of Las Hurdes (smaller but more intense than those from the Jerte Valley) are sold in the villages at ridiculously low prices.

Riding tips: the roads of Las Hurdes are technical and require experience (narrow stretches, irregular asphalt, free-roaming livestock). Mobile coverage is very limited in the valleys. Petrol stations in Pinofranqueado and Caminomorisco. For accommodation, the rural houses of Las Mestas or Riomalo de Abajo offer simple but authentic lodging. For dining, roast Hurdano kid goat cooked over holm-oak firewood and Las Hurdes honey (famous throughout Spain) are the star products.