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Stage itinerary
Points of interest of the stage
Almond, holm oak, olive and pine trees silhouette the first part of this stage of the Ciclosenda del Tajo (Tajo Cycle Route), which will end at the entrance of the Tajo International Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, at the emblematic Roman Bridge of Alcántara. The history of this town, where vestiges dating back to the Palaeolithic have been found, is distinguished by its churches, chapes, convents, palaces and ancestral homes.
We bid farewell to the great Plaza Mayor of Garrovillas de Alconétar (main square) and the abandoned San Antonio de Padua Covent to undertake the seventh stage of the Ciclosenda del Tajo (Tajo Cycle Route), under a field teeming with almond trees.
We will continue bypassing creeks until reaching Mata de Alcántara along a dirt trail separated from the River Tajo Nature Trail. Along the way, the San Lorenzo Chapel, patron saint of the municipality, as well as numerous anthropomorphic tombs and other archaeological remains which these lands hold, can be seen.
Symbolic in Mata de Alcántara is the Renaissance church of Santa María de Gracia (16th century), which occupies the centre of the Plaza de España and has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest. Its interior preserves murals attributed to Juan de Rivera.
At the entrance of Alcántara the vegetation of the land changes. We are in front of the Alcántara Dam also known as the José María de Oriol Reservoir, a fantastic place for bird watching, among which the griffon vulture and the Bonelli’s eagle, stand out.
Of course, we can’t forget its valuable Roman legacy, with its famous bridge, which was completed circa 104, a National Monument since 1924. The monumentality of Alcántara is underlying in buildings such as the Hospedería Conventual de Alcántara, which occupies the former convent of San Bartolomé (15th century) or in the Conventual de San Benito, among many others.
