Extremadura Guide Eng 2016

PREFACE T here is an infallible method for making a place form part of our deepest memories: walking it. The progressive change of the references in the horizon, the perception of the dimension of a slope, the feeling of going in a village for the first time… They are concepts whose meanings chan- ge completely when we feel them going on foot, when we are given the time to be conscious of what we perceive. Then, it does not matter if the route is short or long, because it becomes a slow trip, a special opportu- nity of paying attention to the details, for discovering what is around us. The paths let us approach to unknown things in a privileged way wit- hout being a stranger. Walking consists of making places belong to our- selves, but at the same time, is making us belong to that place as well. It is forming part of the nature, of the spot and mixing with the environ- ment. It is a way of always being welcome, of acceding to some of these special places offered by those who has won its confidence.

Extremadura is a really worth visiting place on foot. This is a very spe- cial land, a unusual place in Europe. Only a few regions of the old con- tinent have reached to XXI century with a generalized state of environ- mental conservation like Extremadura. Thanks to its low population density and the lack of big urban conglomerations, every Extremaduran region offers close, accessible routes, compatible with other tourist acti- vities, involved in a spectacular nature, either to share it with those who could meet in the way to it or enjoy ourselves in a privileged solitude. The landscape richness of Extremadura and the varied orography of the land are only two of the numerous reasons that make each path sugges- ted in this Guide be a really different choice. The unforgettable taste of every region or the unavoidable change of the seasons are added to the different possibilities of a land that can reward those who make up their mind and breath it closely, a genuine area where it is still possible to live that old, wise culture of the paths.