What to do in Badajoz

Badajoz is Spain's largest province and the one with the greatest density of dehesa: holm oak, cork oak and livestock in an agro-silvo-pastoral system that generates Extremadura's most open landscapes. Cornalvo Natural Park centres its activity around a 1st-century Roman reservoir still supplying water; birdwatching routes circle its shores with hides for waterbirds, and kayaking crosses it in silence. Tajo Internacional Natural Park shares a border with Portugal for 50 km. The Iberian lynx, black stork and Spanish imperial eagle nest in the Tagus gorges; kayaking between Alcántara and the Cedillo reservoir is the most direct way to see the slate walls at water level. The Vía de la Plata crosses the province north to south along the 900 km Roman road between Mérida and Astorga: the Extremaduran sections are the most solitary and best preserved. The dehesas around Mérida offer horseback routes between centuries-old holm oaks with the Roman aqueduct in the background.