From Cáceres to Alcántara

Today we face a long stage, although with a negative elevation, which will allow us to go a little more relaxed. While we can say that the main difficulty of this stage lies in its length, there are ways to overcome this difficulty, such as spending the night in Casar de Cáceres, instead of at the Alcántara Reservoir, thus splitting the stage in two and continuing from here the next day. One way or another, today we rest almost by taking a bath in the reservoir. What a luxury!

We leave the Extremaduran city via the Avenida de las Delicias, leaving behind the bullring to reach the Casar road, from where we exit Cáceres. We will continue along the national N-521 on the shoulder until we reach a path that leads us to an open area, which we will continue until crossing the A-66 via an underpass. We then enter Casar de Cáceres, where, if you have left late from the capital, you can spend the night without worries.

Likewise, Casar de Cáceres is a good place to take a break on the way, so now rested (a lot, or a little) we head from here towards the Alcántara Reservoir. We will leave the town behind a beautiful hermitage of Santiago to head along the path through livestock fields where cattle graze. Do you see those stone pillars? They are Roman milestones, and they were used to mark the distances for each Roman mile.

If we continue along this path, we will encounter several milestones.

We pass by several estates, including the Finca Berrueto, to reach the AVE works (High-Speed Train) that we must skirt along a path near the already known N-630. Now we will take a path with several descending slopes parallel to this road, which leads us to cross the Almonte River, to skirt the reservoir until we cross the Tagus River, where we will arrive at the shelter.

Things to consider

This stage is quite long, and there are people who shorten and lengthen it at will. We recommend not spending the night in Casar de Cáceres and following this itinerary, as the end of the stage leaves us at a shelter from which the entirety of the Alcántara Reservoir can be seen, and it is a refreshing place after so much Extremaduran plain.

Places of interest

• Hermitage of Santiago – Casar de Cáceres
• Church of Our Lady of the Assumption – Casar de Cáceres
• Church of San Pedro – Alcántara Reservoir
• Constitution Square – Alcántara Reservoir
• Church of Santa María de la Consolación – Alcántara Reservoir

Typical dishes

• Origüelos
• Fried frogs
• Marinated fish
• Morengas
• Cagajones
• Chanfaina
• Honey