Valle del Jerte

The Valle del Jerte stretches 75 kilometres through the north of the province of Cáceres, enclosed between the Sierra de Tormantos to the west and the Sierra de Gredos to the east, with altitudes ranging from 450 metres at the confluence with the Alagón river to 2,400 metres in the Cáceres sector of Gredos. The Jerte river rises at the Puerto de Tornavacas at 1,290 metres and runs 60 kilometres to join the Ambroz at Plasencia. Its cold, well-oxygenated water — staying below 12 °C even in August in fast-flowing sections — sustains one of the most stable wild trout populations in Extremadura.

The valley's most distinctive feature is the cherry blossom, Prunus avium, in late March and early April. The Valle del Jerte holds over one million productive cherry trees on cultivation terraces covering slopes between 450 and 1,000 metres with a white canopy for two to three weeks, contrasting against the grey granite valley walls. Annual cherry production exceeds 25,000 tonnes, making the valley the largest cherry producer in central Iberia. The local picota del Jerte variety, with its own designation of origin since 1996, has a short stalk that detaches at harvest and firm, deep-red flesh; the harvest lasts barely two to three weeks in June. Outside blossom season, the same orchards show deep green in late spring and ochre and red tones in autumn.

The valley's natural heritage extends to chestnut groves, Castanea sativa, on the mid-slopes, where the oldest trees reach trunk circumferences over four metres. At higher altitudes, broom heath of Cytisus oromediterraneus and creeping juniper form the plant cover above the treeline from around 1,800 metres. Griffon vultures, Gyps fulvus, soar over the granite outcrops in the upper valley, alongside short-toed eagle, Circaetus gallicus, and Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus, on seasonal passage. Otter frequents riverbank sections with dense riparian vegetation.

The valley villages — Jerte, Navaconcejo, Cabezuela del Valle, Rebollar, Valdastillas, Casas del Castañar, Tornavacas — form a sequence of granite and timber architecture adapted to steep terrain over centuries. Stone wine-presses and arcaded timber balconies are the most characteristic elements. A 30-kilometre footpath along the left bank of the Jerte, the Ruta de los Miradores, links the villages and gives viewpoints over the orchards in every season. The main access to high-mountain terrain is the Puerto de Honduras at 1,430 metres, starting point for routes into the Garganta de los Infiernos Natural Reserve — with waterfalls over polished granite slides — and towards the high-mountain lagoons of La Vera.