Small villages in Extremadura

One of my goals with Travel Extremadura is to bring visibility to little places overlooked by travellers and rarely featured in online and offline travel publications. I make a conscious effort to include villages when I travel, which often involves secondary roads, slower journeys and detours, but also great surprises, enjoyable moments and funny anecdotes.

This article compiles all the small villages in Extremadura that I have visited so far, including very short descriptions featuring the main highlights. At the end of the article, you’ll find all the villages on a map to help you locate them and decide which ones you could include in your Extremadura road trip.

Bear in mind that this is a work in progress. It will be regularly updated as I keep travelling and exploring new villages.

Definition of ‘small village’

In order to better present Extremadura destinations, I have adopted pretty subjective definitions for words describing places. Accordingly, for the purposes of this website, the term ‘village’ refers to places with a population ranging from 500 to 1,999; the term ‘small village’ refers to places with a population of under 500.

When it comes to population, I use the latest available data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE). But bearing in mind that population numbers are constantly changing, you should allow some flexibility when it comes to a place fitting the above definition of ‘small village’.

Small villages in Extremadura visited so far

Small villages in Cáceres province

Abertura

Located in the Miajadas-Trujillo area, Abertura is under twenty minutes by car from Trujillo. It has a rather nice main square with a central fountain, a church (Iglesia de San Juan Bautista), and remains of a former important textile industry, such as a garment factory, and stone washing basins in the outskirts.

Alcollarín

Alcollarín is also located in the Miajadas-Trujillo area, very near Abertura. It has a little church and several small mosaics around the village featuring the local coat of arms and birds.

Arroyomolinos de la Vera

Situated in La Vera area, Arroyomolinos features three impressive street art works and a viewpoint (Mirador de la Atalaya) offering great views of the surrounding mountains to the north and of wide open land to the south.

Bohonal de Ibor

Bohonal is located in Campo Arañuelo, about fifteen minutes away by car from Navalmoral de la Mata, and south of the Valdecañas reservoir, where you can visit the iconic Roman temple Templo Los Mármoles.

Cabañas del Castillo

Situated in the scenic Villuercas-Ibores-Jara area, Cabañas features a Muslim castle with a nearby observation platform affording one of my favourite views. Don’t miss: the Cabañas del Castillo-Ortijuela walking route and spotting vultures flying off and to Peña Buitrera.

Campillo de Deleitosa

Also situated in Villuercas-Ibores-Jara, Campillo is one of Extremadura’s tiniest villages, where you can complete one of the best walks I’ve done so far: Ruta de la Herrería. It offers spectacular views to the sierra and the chance to walk along an old aqueduct that supplied water to a local blacksmith’s (herrería).

Casares de las Hurdes

Located in Las Hurdes, the region’s northernmost area, the village of Casares also includes five hamlets, all of them nestled in the mountains in a beautiful, remote area and featuring traditional houses made of stone and clay, with slate roofs.

Collado de la Vera

Collado is the smallest village in La Vera area and lies just a few kilometres east of Jaraíz. Here you’ll find Las Pilas, a natural swimming pool on Garganta de Pedro Chate and of the best places for wild swimming in La Vera.

Fresnedoso de Ibor

Situated in Villuercas-Ibores-Jara, little Fresnedoso can be reached by car via several scenic roads including the CC-412 road from Campillo de Deleitosa, and the CC-79 road from Bohonal de Ibor.

Gargüera de la Vera

Gargüera is La Vera’s westernmost village, located only twenty minutes by car from Plasencia. It has a fairly large main square and a little church to the south, just off the main CC-18.1 road.

Herreruela

Located in the Sierra de San Pedro area, Herreruela features a charming main square with a crème caramel-looking fountain, a nice nineteenth-century village hall, a church, and a rather quirky residential building with a tower. Don’t miss the mural of a local bandit on Calle Hernán Cortés.

La Aldea del Obispo

This little village is situated some fifteen minutes by car from Trujillo, in the Miajadas-Trujillo area. The main highlights are a Baroque church and a stone house believed to have been the home of the bishop (obispo) the village is called after.

Navalvillar de Ibor

Navalvillar is located within the Villuercas-Ibores-Jara area, some twenty five minutes by car from Guadalupe, along the scenic EX-118 road. This is an assuming little village with incredible views.

Robledillo de la Vera

Situated south of Losar de la Vera, Robledillo has several nice squares (one of them with a church and a classic round fountain in the middle) and some beautiful views to the Sierra de Gredos.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

This small village is one of my recommended day trips from Trujillo for walkers. Ruta del Risco Grande leads you up to the top of Pico de San Gregorio at 844 metres over sea level, past a convent, several ponds, the remains of an old irrigation system, a cemetery and some former village remains.

Talaveruela de la Vera

Talaveruela has a lovely main square, several little squares, a church and examples of classic La Vera-style traditional architecture (look out for wooden balconies, mudbricks and exposed wooden beams).

Valdehúncar

Located in Campo Arañuelo, south of Navalmoral de la Mata, Valdehúncar’s main highlights are several street art works painted on the side and the back of the local village hall (Ayuntamiento).

Valdemorales

This unassuming village in the Sierra de Montánchez y Tamuja caught my eye for its irregular street layout, what I found to be a high number of garages, and its little farms with animals scattered throughout.

Valverde de la Vera

Valverde is one of the most charming villages in La Vera area, with numerous examples of vernacular architecture, narrow streets with a stream running down the centre, the remains of a fourteenth-century castle, and one of the region’s quirkiest Easter celebrations.

Viandar de la Vera

Viandar, located to the west of Talaveruela, is worth stopping at to see two interesting murals along the main road and to have a swim at the nearby natural swimming pool on Garganta de Río Moros.

Villamesías

Halfway between Miajadas and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Villamesías is a quite compact small village with a porticoed church, and a few interesting residential buildings. Look out for the old 279 km milestone on the main road (opposite the chemist’s).

Small villages in Badajoz province

Aljucén

Located in the Lácara-Los Baldíos area, some fifteen minutes by car from Mérida, Aljucén marks kilometre 740 for pilgrims doing the Via de la Plata route of the popular camino to Santiago de Compostela.

Capilla

Capilla lies to the very east of La Serena area, by the huge, namesake reservoir. It has a notable castle with some of the best views around. Apart from visiting the castle, I strongly recommend completing the circular Ruta Peñón del Pez walking route.

Casas de Reina

Just outside Casas de Reina (Campiña Sur area) you can visit the remains of Regina Turdulorum, a former Roman city home to one of three Roman theatres in Extremadura.

El Carrascalejo

Like nearby Aljucén, El Carrascalejo is located by the Autovía Ruta de la Plata road and is a stop along the Via de la Plata Camino route. It has a nice stone church, mostly whitewashed houses and a curious statue of a woman carrying water.

Magacela

Magacela, situated in La Serena area, packs in a lot. Apart from the remains of a castle (including a church and a cemetery within its walls), it has charming, steep streets, some cave art at the end of Sendero del Abrigo del Águila route, a dolmen, and the remains of thirteen kilns.

Mengabril

Mengabril is situated south of Medellín, within the Vegas Altas del Guadiana area, surrounded by flat farming land. Its main highlight is a fifteenth-century church (iglesia parroquial de Santa Margarita), located at the northern end of the village.

Reina

Located just over ten kilometres from Llerena, within the in the Campiña Sur area, Reina features a notable Moorish citadel (alcazaba) affording amazing views in all four directions, allowing you to spot the nearby former Roman city of Regina Turdulorum.

Valverde de Burguillos

To the south of Burguillos del Cerro, within the Zafra-Río Bodión area, lies this little village of mostly whitewashed buildings. To the right of its church is a small, rather lovely plaza with benches, and a park with a fountain (Fuente El Pilar) and palm trees to the west.

Villarta de los Montes

Located on the very east of Badajoz province, within La Siberia area, Villarta has some interesting street art works and is surrounded by beautiful landscapes. El Castañar natural swimming pool is just five minutes away by car.

Zarza Capilla

Situated within La Serena area, this village is actually made up of two villages.  Older Zarza Capilla is where you’ll find the village hall, the main church and Los Lagos viewpoint; newer Zarza Capilla (La Nueva), built in the nineteen forties, has a nice main square with a church and a wooded park-picnic area.

Small villages in Extremadura on a map

Find all the small villages mentioned in this article on the map below.