Miranda del Castañar and the Camino de los Prodigios

Miranda del Castañar, declared a historic site, is walked from one end to the other along a main street inside the wall, between houses with wooden balconies, up to the castle at one end of the village. It is smaller and quieter than La Alberca and can be seen in an hour, at an easy pace.

The town and its wall

According to Castilla y León Tourism, Miranda was founded as a "villa y tierra" community around 1215, and its very well preserved wall must date from that time. It is more than 600 metres long and encloses an old town of cobbled streets, hermitages and sierra manor houses.

The castle is attributed to Pedro de Zúñiga, second Count of Miranda del Castañar, who probably built at least the keep. That tower joins a small enclosure that serves as a forecourt, next to a D-shaped tower and other remains that might belong to an earlier, smaller fortification. The circular gun loops are typical of 15th-century artillery. The story goes that, shortly before the death of Diego de Zúñiga, the Duke of Alba, García Álvarez de Toledo, seized the fortress claiming he had rights over it. Today the castle can only be seen from the outside.

The Camino de los Prodigios

It is one of the park's art-in-nature routes: circular, 10.2 km, about four hours and 475 m of climb, of medium difficulty. It links Miranda del Castañar with Villanueva del Conde through the Sierras de Béjar y de Francia Biosphere Reserve, among oaks, vines, olives, cork oaks and strawberry trees, with bridges, terraces and artistic interventions along the way. Castilla y León Tourism rates it as suitable in any season. Ask for the map at the Casa del Parque or at the La Alberca tourist office, and if you go in summer, set out early and take water, because it is four hours.

Practical information

The municipal tourist office is on Calle Los Llanitos, no number, and the town hall on Calle Alhóndiga; both answer on 923 432 001. The village's cooking revolves, as in the rest of the sierra, around Iberian ham and cured meats. The easiest thing is to leave the car at the entrance to the village and walk round it, because the streets within the walls are cobbled.

What to combine it with

Mogarraz, the village of portraits on the façades, is about 9 km away: the listing for Mogarraz also describes its Camino del Agua, shorter and easier than the Prodigios one. With the two villages and the old town of La Alberca you have a good day's drive through the sierra. If you are looking for a gentler route, the Camino de las Raíces starts from La Alberca: 8 km of low difficulty.