What to do in Salamanca

Salamanca is the university capital of the western Iberian Peninsula and the entry point to two natural parks of contrasting character: the Sierra de Francia (50 km away) and the Arribes del Duero (80 km away). Hiking in the Sierra de Francia crosses chestnut and oak woodlands along paths linking villages of traditional mountain architecture, with La Peña Francia peak (1,723 m) as the main landmark. The Arribes del Duero offer a radically different setting: 200-metre-deep canyons carved by the Duero river through granite, with hiking routes and rock climbing on the gorge walls. Horse riding routes across the Sierra de Francia pastures follow the cañadas reales, ancient droving roads where extensive livestock farming has maintained open landscapes for centuries. Mountain biking has forest circuits in the sierra and technical descents on rural tracks. Kayaking on the Tormes river, which crosses the city, allows urban canoe outings, while the Miranda del Castañar area concentrates the province's best-quality granite rock climbing.