# Hervás and the Ambroz Valley

What to see in Hervás: the Jewish quarter, the Vía Verde de la Plata by bike, the Ambroz chestnut trees in autumn, how to get there from Cáceres or Salamanca and where to stay.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/hervas-and-the-ambroz-valley · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Hervás is the main village of the Ambroz Valley, in the north of Cáceres province, at the foot of the Sierra de Béjar and next to the border with Salamanca. It has one of the best-preserved Jewish quarters in Spain, declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1969: houses of granite, adobe and chestnut wood, eaves that almost touch and the Travesía del Moral, barely half a metre wide. All around are forests of chestnut and oak that turn yellow and red in autumn, and down the valley runs the Vía Verde de la Plata, the old Plasencia-Salamanca railway, now for bikes and walkers. You can see it in a day; the valley deserves a weekend.

## How do you get there from Cáceres?

By car, along the A-66 motorway, the Ruta de la Plata, northwards, past Plasencia: it is about 113 km and an hour and twenty minutes. From Salamanca, the same motorway southwards via Béjar: about 95 km and an hour and a quarter. From Plasencia, about 30 km. From Ávila, via Béjar, about two hours; from Madrid, a little over three, along the A-5 and the Navalmoral-Plasencia motorway or via Ávila and Béjar.

Without a car it is harder. There is no train and the buses that pass through the valley are no use for a Sunday there and back: ask at the tourist office before counting on them.

## Where do you park?

Outside the Jewish quarter. Its streets are narrow, sloping and paved with river cobbles, and are not designed for cars. Leave the car on the streets of the new part of town, near Avenida de la Provincia or the station, and walk down: the whole old town fits into one stroll. If you are staying in a rural house in the quarter, ask when booking where to unload.

## How much time do I need?

A day covers the village: the Jewish quarter in the morning, with the church of Santa María up above and the Fuente Chiquita bridge below; lunch; and in the afternoon the Pérez Comendador-Leroux Museum, in a Baroque palace with a garden. With a night, add the Vía Verde by bike: Bicis Ambroz takes you up to Béjar and you ride down at your own pace, 23 km in about two and a half hours. With two nights, the valley: the Castaños del Temblar in Segura de Toro, the Roman arch of Cáparra or the abandoned village of Granadilla.

## When should you go?

In autumn, if you can choose. From early October until the last weekend of November, the eight villages of the Ambroz Valley celebrate Otoño Mágico (Magic Autumn), with routes through the chestnut woods, markets and activities every weekend, and the forest is at its best colour. In spring, from April to June, the valley is green and the Vía Verde is in the shade. Summer is cooler than on the Extremadura plain, with natural pools and the August and September festivals. In July, the Los Conversos festival remembers the village's Jewish past with theatre by the river.

## The Vía Verde de la Plata

The railway operated between 1896 and 1985; today it is a gently graded natural path reserved for bikes and walkers. The most scenic stretch enters Extremadura at Puerto de Béjar and descends to Hervás through tunnels, cuttings and chestnut woods, with the valley open at your feet. It ends at the Iron Bridge, which crosses the Ambroz with the Jewish quarter in the background, and at the old station, now a hostel. You can continue to Aldeanueva del Camino and, for the strongest, to Plasencia.

## What do you eat?

The valley's cooking blends Jewish heritage, such as sweet soup and nuégados, with zorongollo, cochinillo cuchifrito and caldereta. People drink pitarra wine and pick at cured meats, potato black pudding and pumpkin black pudding. Hervás also has acclaimed chef-led cooking: Nardi has a Repsol Sun and appears in the Michelin Guide.

## Dónde está
- Zonas: The Central System
- Cerca: Jerte Valley (a 8.9 km), La Alberca and the Sierra de Francia (a 32.0 km), Monfragüe National Park (a 49.6 km), Sierra de Gredos (a 58.7 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Hervás Jewish Quarter** (1 h 30 · Everyone · Free): What It Is
The quarter formed by the Jews who settled in Hervás between the 14th and 15th centuries, declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1969 and one of the best preserved in Spain. According to the town council, the community reached about 45 families, with a brotherhood house and a synagogue, and worked in trades such as shoemakers, tanners, tailors, linen merchants, scribes and moneylenders. With the expulsion edict of 1492, many families fled to Portugal and others converted and formed the brotherhood of conversos. Of the original buildings, wine presses, cellars and synagogue, only remains survive; oral tradition places the synagogue at Calle Rabilero, 19.
What Its Streets Are Like
The quarter occupies the north-east slope of the hill that runs down from the church of Santa María to the Ambroz river, from the Plaza, where Christians and Jews met, to the Fuente Chiquita. The houses are of granite, adobe and chestnut wood, with overhangs and balconies that shut out the sky, adobe frameworks, big doorways and streets paved with river cobbles. Look at the Arab tiles placed vertically on the facades to shield them from the rain. The street names recall their residents: Sinagoga, Rabilero, Cofradía.
The Route
Go down from the Plaza de la Corredera towards the river. Look for the Travesía del Moral, barely half a metre wide, the Calle Cuestecilla with its steps and Calle Rabilero, and finish at the Fuente Chiquita bridge, over the Ambroz. It dates from the 16th century, of granite ashlar with a single arch, and for centuries it was the main entrance to the village from the Vía de la Plata. On the left parapet it bears the tombstone of Alonso Sánchez, royal huntsman and nobleman of Plasencia, whom Hervás calls the Machón del Puente.
To understand it beforehand, go into the "Hervás, la historia recobrada" Interpretation Centre, at Calle Braulio Navas, 6, beside the tourist office: it tells the history of the village from the 11th to the 20th century, with the first settlements, the Jewish community, the religious orders and traditional architecture. Free entry; open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 and Tuesday to Saturday from 17:00 to 20:00. If you prefer to have it explained, the guided tour of the Jewish quarter leaves from the same street.
Los Conversos
Each summer, in early July, Hervás celebrates Los Conversos, the festival that recalls its Sephardic heritage, with a play written for the occasion and performed beside the river; in 2026 it was the 29th edition. If you want a quiet walk, choose other dates.
- **Vía de la Plata Greenway by Bike, from Béjar to Hervás** (2 h 30 · 23 km · Families and anyone who can ride a bike · Desde 23 € per person): What It Is
The Vía Verde de la Plata Natural Way follows the old railway, which ran from 1896 to 1985, with a gentle gradient and reserved for bikes and walkers. The Béjar to Hervás stretch is the most spectacular: you leave behind Béjar's old textile mills, cross its tunnels, pedal 6 gentle kilometres among chestnut trees to Puerto de Béjar and from there it is all downhill. After the last tunnel, the Baños de Montemayor one, the Ambroz valley opens at your feet and you reach Hervás over the Iron Bridge, with the Jewish quarter in the background.
How It Works
Bicis Ambroz picks you up at its warehouse in Hervás, takes you by van to Béjar or Puerto de Béjar, gives you the bike and explains the route. You ride down at your own pace, in about two and a half hours, and return the bike in Hervás. Usual departures at 9:00, 10:15, 11:30 and 17:00; the schedule changes through the year. You pay on collection, by card, Bizum or in cash.
Who It Is For
For families and for anyone, even if you do not ride much: most of it is downhill. There are bikes in all sizes, child trailers, semi-tandems, baby seats, electric bikes and three-seat electric tricycles. The first tunnel at Béjar has no lighting and the ditches are deep: go slowly.
- **Church of Santa María and the Castle Viewpoint** (30 min · Everyone · Free): What It Is
Santa María de la Asunción de las Aguas Vivas, which Hervás people simply call "la Iglesia", stands at the highest point of the village. According to the tourist office it was built in the 12th century from a Templar watchtower, with later alterations visible in its walls; the town council presents this as tradition: it is believed to have been built over a Templar castle. The clearest clue to that defensive past is the wall that still surrounds the church, which is why the town council calls it the Church-Castle.
What to See
Look first at the square ashlar tower that tops the bell tower: it bears the coats of arms of the Zúñiga family and the Bishop of Plasencia, and 13th-century mason's marks that the town council cites as proof of the old castle. The doorway has Mannerist elements. Inside, the chapel of Las Angustias stands out, with a Baroque altarpiece.
The church also tells the story of the conversos of Hervás. At the end of the 16th century, the converted Jews had already become part of Catholic worship, controlled the parish and supplied its priests, and according to the town council they rivalled the Trinitarian friars of San Juan Bautista for the village's spiritual life. In the 18th century the parish priest Jerónimo Sánchez Zúñiga, between 1738 and 1784, was an important commissioner of the Inquisition. To understand that context before going up, visit the "Hervás, la historia recobrada" Interpretation Centre, at Calle Braulio Navas, 6.
The Viewpoint
The wall encloses the old Christian cemetery, now turned into a natural viewpoint. From the atrium you see the sierra, the valley to the south and the roofs of the village, with the Jewish quarter at your feet. The viewpoint is always open and free.
When to Go In
The interior can be seen on Sundays and public holidays, at the 12:30 Mass. For other times, the tourist office refers you to the guided visits, on 676 110 051; the Visitas Hervás guided tour of the Jewish quarter also passes this way. The tourist office, on 927 473 618, will confirm the day's hours.
Getting There
You walk up from the centre along sloping streets. Combine it with the Jewish quarter: go up to the church first and then down towards the river and the Fuente Chiquita bridge, or the other way round if you prefer to finish with the view. Allow half an hour between the church and the viewpoint.
- **Pérez Comendador-Leroux Museum** (1 h · Adults and older children · Free): What It Is
The Casa de los Dávila, an 18th-century Baroque mansion at Calle Asensio Neila, 5, houses the work of the Hervás-born sculptor Enrique Pérez Comendador and his wife, the French painter Magdalena Leroux. The building carries the name of the last family that owned it before it became a museum, although it was built by Miguel Lumeras, who in 1803 asked permission to cut timber on the municipal hillside for the work. The facade is sober, of granite ashlar on two storeys, with projecting cornices, a triangular pediment and a doorway with a neoclassical lintel. It has been the museum's home since 1986, and shares the building with the public library and the municipal music school. It has been part of the Historic-Artistic Site of Hervás since 1969, together with the Jewish quarter and the church of Santa María.
What You Will See
The collection occupies seven permanent rooms and two temporary ones. Most of it is sculpture by Pérez Comendador: among the pieces on show are fourteen works dated between 1934 and 1974, in bronze, sandstone, polychrome lime mortar and marble, which in 2014 were lent to the ONCE Tactile Museum in Madrid so that they could be seen by touch. Alongside them, the painting of Magdalena Leroux and works by Ángel Duarte, Eugenio Hermoso and Zuloaga. The house also has a garden, the Roger Lecourtier Morel, and the library.
The museum also programmes temporary exhibitions, meetings and concerts: in October 2026 it was one of the venues of the Early Music Festival, with concerts on the 2nd, 10th and 16th.
Hours
Free entry. According to the tourist office's autumn 2026 timetable: in the morning, Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00; in the afternoon, Tuesday to Friday from 16:00 to 19:00 (from 17:00 to 20:00 in summer). It is closed on Mondays, Tuesday mornings, Saturday and Sunday afternoons and public holidays; in July and August it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00. Guided visits by reservation on 927 481 655.
How to Combine It
Allow an hour. It is in the centre, a few steps from the church of Santa María, so it fits before or after going up to the viewpoint and down through the Jewish quarter. If you come at the weekend, remember it only opens in the morning. Entry is free, so you can pop in for a while and come back another day.
- **Guided Tour of the Hervás Jewish Quarter** (1 h 40 · Everyone): Three Departures a Day from Calle Braulio Navas
Visitas Hervás organises three free tours of the village from Tuesday to Sunday, all with prior booking. The first of the day, the "morning" one, leaves at 9:30 and lasts an hour and a half: the Jewish quarter, the church of La Asunción and the Trinitarian convent. "Historia de Hervás", at 12:00, is the most complete, of a hundred minutes: the old town, declared a Historic-Artistic Site; the church of Santa María de Aguas Vivas, built on the remains of a 13th-century Templar fortress; the Jewish quarter, which is part of the Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain; the banks of the Ambroz and the medieval Fuente Chiquita bridge. On the way you hear about the life of the village's Jews and conversos and what the Edict of Granada meant for them.
The third, "Atardeceres por Hervás", leaves at 17:00 (at 19:00 in summer, best to confirm) and lasts another hundred minutes. It covers the square, the castle and Santa María, the Jewish quarter, the Fuente Chiquita bridge and the steps of Calle La Cuestecilla, with more legends, the history of the quarter's merchants and what is told of the bonfires on its streets at dusk.
The meeting point is the "Corazón de Hervás", beside the tourist office on Calle Braulio Navas, although the website also names the Plaza de la Corredera: confirm when you book.
You Pay at the End, Book Beforehand
On the free tours there is no price: at the end, each person pays what they think is fair. You do need to book, with a minimum of six people per departure, using the form at hervas.info, by phone or by WhatsApp on 722 768 148. If there are fewer of you, ask whether there is another booking you can join. The website does not publish what happens if it rains or how to cancel.
An Official Guide Who Also Signs
Guide Rebeca Farrán, a graduate in History, sign-language interpreter and official guide of Extremadura Tourism (registration 00288-GT). The tours are in Spanish and in sign language, for all ages and with dogs. The walk is urban and without difficulty, but the Jewish quarter has slopes, steps and cobbles: wear comfortable shoes, and if you come with a pushchair bear in mind the steps of La Cuestecilla on the afternoon departure.
The Paid Tours: Families and the Chestnut Grove
Besides the free tours, the same guide runs "Hervás, un pueblo de cuento", designed for families with children: a hundred minutes at 17:00, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, school holidays and public holidays, for €10 for adults; children up to ten do not pay. It also asks for a minimum of six people.
The full visit to the Castañar Gallego and the Jewish quarter lasts three hours and covers about 9 km: first the chestnut forest with a biologist and nature guide, from the company ViveAmbroz, with 4x4 transfer, and then the Jewish quarter with the official guide. It costs €20, leaves in the morning or afternoon and needs a minimum of four people. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
To carry on by yourself afterwards, the page on the Jewish quarter explains what to see street by street, and from the Santa María viewpoint you have the whole village below. When the 12:00 free tour ends, Sésamo is in the same Jewish quarter, if it is Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
- **Magic Autumn in the Ambroz Valley** (Everyone): The 29th Edition, 23 October to 29 November
Otoño Mágico is the Ambroz Valley's autumn festival, and has been held since 1998. The 2026 one is its 29th edition, with the slogan "Where the forest beats with you", and spreads activities among the valley's eight villages: Abadía, Aldeanueva del Camino, Baños de Montemayor, Casas del Monte, La Garganta, Gargantilla, Hervás and Segura de Toro. There was a curtain-raiser on 4 October, the "Saluda al Otoño" in Baños de Montemayor; the official programme runs from 23 October to 29 November, almost always at weekends, and two postponed events extend it to 13 December.
There are guided routes through chestnut groves and dehesas in the "Paisaje y paisanaje" series, walking, cycling and motorbike rides, concerts, theatre, monologues, astronomy, workshops and gastronomic days. Each activity has its own page on visitambroz.es, with the time, the meeting place and, if needed, the link to register or buy a ticket.
Ambroz Day in Hervás, Saturday 14 November
It is the big day in Hervás. From 12:00 to 20:00 there is a crafts market on the pedestrian street and the Plaza de la Corredera. From 13:00 to 15:00, in the sports hall, the women's associations of the eight villages and the Cookery and Gastronomy course of the Valle del Ambroz secondary school serve tapas of the district's recipes: migas, patatas revolconas, pig's snout, caldereta, zorongollo, pickled potatoes or fried milk, with a ham-carving demonstration. At 18:30 the parade of Don Otoño's Magic Adventure sets off, with the Forest Fairy, street theatre and fireworks, between the roundabout and the youth centre, returning to the roundabout.
On Sunday 15, the "Risas Mágicas" monologues at the Cine Teatro Juventud are already sold out.
On the 22nd, on Foot from La Garganta to Segura de Toro
Sunday 22 November is the 27th "Bosques del Ambroz" Walk, which crosses the valley from north to south. The long route, 21 km with 700 places, leaves from the Plaza del Solano in La Garganta between 8:30 and 9:00; the short one, 12 km with 250 places, leaves from the Plaza de la Corredera in Hervás at about 11:00. Both end in Segura de Toro, with a local produce market and music. Registration is compulsory, and when signing up for the long one they ask whether you need a bus to the start from your village in the valley. Segura de Toro is also the village of the Temblar Chestnut Trees.
What Is Left Until the 29th
On the 20th, presentation of the book "Fauna del Valle del Ambroz y Trasierra" in Hervás. On the 21st, theatre and music in Abadía, a baking competition in Aldeanueva del Camino, a concert by Al-Konetara Folk in Baños de Montemayor and astronomical observation in Abadía, with a reserved place. On the 27th, at the Gaia wineries in Hervás, the presentation of a CICYTEX study on the Ambroz grape varieties. On the 28th, Baños de Montemayor devotes the day to wellbeing, with yoga, the Cesteros route and a solar workshop, as well as the first motorbike route. On the 29th, the Casas del Monte mountain race and a tapas route through its bars close the programme.
Postponed to December
The 23rd Caminos del Ambroz MTB Ride, which was to take place in November, moves to Sunday 13 December, from the Hervás sports hall, from 8:30 to 15:30. The same day the guided route "Sex Appeal", also postponed, leaves from the chestnut tunnel beside the park. On Saturday 12, another Ambroz Day brings to Hervás the Jurdano Carnival of Las Hurdes, the guest territory.
- **Chestnut Trees of El Temblar, in Segura de Toro** (Everyone · Free): What It Is
An old mountain orchard beside the Temblar stream, in Segura de Toro, one of the villages of the Ambroz Valley, with five centuries-old chestnut trees catalogued as remarkable trees of Extremadura. Segura de Toro Town Council estimates them at between 500 and 800 years old and presents them as a protected monumental group. They are on private land, and the Hervás tourist office is the one that gives information on visits.
The Five Chestnut Trees
Each has a name. The Hondonero, in the lower part of the estate, is the most important: the town council calls it the most valuable chestnut in Extremadura, about 700 years old, about 25 metres tall according to Extremadura Tourism (26.5 according to the town council), with a trunk perimeter of 8 metres at 1.30 m from the ground and a crown of 30 by 32 metres that covers about 800 square metres. Higher up is the Castaño del Arroyo, the oldest, at about 800 years. The Bronco has a spiral trunk; the Retorcío, about 500 years old, a trunk formed of thick bundles of twisted fibres, with almost 6 metres of perimeter; and the Menuero, at the top of the estate and furthest from the stream, is the most delicate and bears the smallest chestnuts, hence its name.
The Walking Route
You get there by the SL-CC 93 footpath, signposted and easy going according to the town council. The Ambroz Valley tourism website describes it as an out-and-back path of about 3.6 to 4 km, 1 h 10 to an hour and a half, from Segura de Toro to the estate beside the stream, along a track between chestnut groves with views of the valley. It is easy, but uphill: about 180 m of ascent and as much of descent, between 650 and 830 m in altitude. It publishes the track in GPX and PDF. The chestnut trees are on private land: do not collect chestnuts.
When to Go
In late spring, with the new leaves, or in full autumn, with the fruit. From 15 October to 15 January, in the chestnut season, access to the estate is limited; if you go on those dates, ask first at the Hervás tourist office, on 927 473 618, how and when you can enter. You can also ask at Segura de Toro Town Council, on 927 48 40 31. The visit is free. In autumn, combine it with the valley's Magic Autumn and return to Hervás for the Jewish quarter.
- **Cáparra Roman Site** (1 h 30 · Everyone · Free): What It Is
The remains of the Roman city of Cáparra, on the Vía de la Plata, the road that linked Emerita Augusta (Mérida) with Asturica Augusta (Astorga). Its origin is unclear, but it grew thanks to the road and became a Roman municipality under the emperor Vespasian, in the 1st century. It is a Site of Cultural Interest. Its best-known piece is its four-faced arch, the tetrapylon, with four round arches on piers built over the road: Extremadura Tourism presents it as unique in the peninsula.
What You Will See
The city was walled and had three gates, to the south-east, east and west. Its two main streets were the cardo and the decumanus, which is the Vía de la Plata itself as it passes through the city: you can still see its paving, the lines of the porticoes that flanked it and part of the facades of some Roman houses. Beside the arch are the forum, with remains of the basilica, the curia and three temples, and the baths, where you can make out the hot-air heating system, the palaestra and the shops that opened onto the decumanus. Three necropolises have been discovered; the route starts at one of them, beside the interpretation centre, and also passes the amphitheatre and the south-west gate.
Between 2025 and 2026 the Junta has undertaken the first major rehabilitation of the site in more than twenty years, with €1.9 million: complete refurbishment of the interpretation centre, restoration of the arch, the baths, the domus, the south-east gate and the amphitheatre, and excavation of the forum, where the full perimeter of the wall has been traced. In summer the forum hosts the extension of the Mérida Classical Theatre Festival, which in 2026 brought six productions to Cáparra.
Hours
Free entry. According to the Hervás tourist office's autumn 2026 timetable: Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 18:00; Sundays and public holidays, mornings only, from 10:00 to 13:30. The Extremadura Tourism listing gives different hours (Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 to 16:30, Sundays from 10:00 to 14:00, closed Mondays, 1 and 6 January and 25 December), so call beforehand on 927 19 94 85 if you are going first or last thing. It has adapted access and parking, an adapted toilet and admits guide dogs.
Getting There
It is beside the A-66 and the N-630, at the exit at kilometre 455, in the direction of Guijo de Granadilla, already in the municipality of Oliva de Plasencia. By car from Hervás, going down the valley to the south. Allow an hour and a half for the full tour. If you prefer to see it with a guide, Visitas Hervás organises guided visits to the site, and back in Hervás you can continue with the Jewish quarter.

## Dónde comer
- **Nardi Restaurant** (Restaurant, Hervás, €€€€). Qué pedir: the Extremaduran-style pig's trotter ravioli, the house's classic bite, and seasonal mushrooms; or one of the tasting menus
- **Sésamo, Casa de Comidas** (Restaurant, Hervás, €€€). Qué pedir: the seasonal menu with produce from the valley; ask for a table in the dining room if it rains and on the terrace if it is fine
- **El Convento Restaurant, at the Hospedería Valle del Ambroz** (Restaurant, Hervás, €€€). Qué pedir: the season's Extremaduran game menu, from €55, or the traditional menu with Extremadura wines

## By car: By Car Through the Ambroz Valley
Hervás is beside the A-66, an hour and a quarter from Salamanca and an hour and twenty from Cáceres, and the car opens up the rest of the valley: Segura de Toro, Cáparra, Baños de Montemayor or Granadilla. In the village, leave it outside the Jewish quarter and walk.
Presupuesto orientativo: 70–130 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hospedería Valle del Ambroz Hotel** (Hotel, desde 75 € / night): A Trinitarian Convent Arranged Around the Cloister
The hotel occupies the former convent of the Trinitarians, from the 17th century, on the Plaza del Hospital, in the El Convento district. It is one of the establishments of the public Hospederías de Extremadura network and has four stars. The rehabilitation left the cloister as the axis: around it are the rooms, with light and water. The library shows the original walls and holds books by Extremaduran authors, and the Los Castaños hall can be hired for weddings and celebrations.
Classic Wing or New Wing: the 26 Rooms
There are four types. Standard doubles; doubles with views, which look onto the Sierra del Pinajarro; superior doubles, larger, of which the website describes one with views of the village and traditional style and another of new construction and contemporary décor; and singles. When booking you can ask for the classic or the new part. All have air conditioning and heating, safe, pillow menu, hairdryer, television and wifi, and there is room service and adapted rooms.
The House Table and the Game Menu
The hotel has a breakfast room and café, and the El Convento Restaurant, serving traditional Extremaduran cooking with modern touches. This season it serves the network's 2026-2027 game menu, from €55 and open also to those who do not sleep at the hotel: wild boar loin salad, stewed quail fritter, creamy fallow-deer rice, stewed venison with Almoharín figs and a white chocolate soup, with wines from the Ribera del Guadiana. Book by phone on 927 47 48 28.
What It Costs and the Offers
The Hospederías website gives rates from €74.95 a night and a 15% discount on the official rate for the over-60s. There are gourmet and romantic getaway packages from €199 and a Christmas Eve one from €271.90; see what each includes before choosing. Bookings go through the website, on 900 101 462 or the hotel's 927 474 828. The page does not publish check-in and check-out times, or whether there is parking or dogs are accepted: ask when booking.
The Pool, for 2027
The pool and garden, which look onto the Pinajarro, are closed until the start of the 2027 season. If you are travelling in autumn or winter do not count on them.
On Foot from the Cloister
Next door you have the country house El Jardín del Convento and the church of San Juan Bautista. Going down towards the centre you reach the Jewish quarter and Calle Braulio Navas, where the guided tours leave and where Nardi is, for eating outside the hotel.
- **El Jardín del Convento Country House** (Country house): The Family House on the Plaza del Convento
El Jardín del Convento is at Plaza del Convento, 22, in the district named after the former Trinitarian convent, today the Hospedería Valle del Ambroz, which is next door. The house was built in the mid-19th century as a family home and remained so until it was opened to guests: the restoration lasted from 1999 to 2001 and respected almost all of the original layout, symmetrical, with spacious rooms and corridors and high ceilings. Part of the stone walls and the chestnut-wood structure remain visible. Hervás Tourism has it registered as a three-star country house.
It is accommodation by the room. From the door you can walk to the Jewish quarter and the Corredera, in the centre of the village.
Seven Rooms, Each with Its Own Size
All have a bathroom with shower, heated towel rail and hairdryer, heating with individual control, air conditioning, television and free wifi, and the website gives the square metres of each:

Room 1, onto the square, 16 m²: 135 cm bed and the house's original clay-tile floor.
Rooms 2 and 3, onto the garden, on the first floor: 17 m² with 150 cm bed and 12.5 m² with 135 cm bed; room 3 is also rented as a single.
Room 4, onto the garden, 29 m²: 160 by 200 cm bed and space for two extra beds.
Room 5, onto the square, 30 m²: two 90 cm beds and a 140 cm sofa bed.
Room 6, onto the square, 30 m²: suite-style, with a bedroom with a 150 cm bed and a sitting room with two trundle beds.
Room 7, on the ground floor and adapted for people with reduced mobility: 39 m², wood-burning fireplace, adapted bathroom with underfloor heating and up to four people.

The Cottage, at the Bottom of the Garden
Apart from the house there is a stone building on the left side of the garden, of 80 m² between ground floor and attic. Downstairs, a sitting room with wood-burning fireplace, kitchen and bathroom; upstairs, two attic bedrooms separated by a door, one with a 135 cm bed and the other with two 90 cm beds. It has its own patch of lawn with awning and garden furniture, and the house recommends it for couples with children.
A Thousand Metres of Box, Vegetable Garden and Wisteria
Behind the house, facing south-south-west, the garden covers about 1,000 m² and preserves its 19th-century layout: geometric paths between century-old box hedges, with vegetable garden and fruit trees. It has benches and tables dotted around and discreet lighting for going out at night. On the first floor, a 65 m² terrace covered by a wisteria looks onto the garden and the sierra; on the ground floor, the 57 m² glazed gallery is the dining room and sitting room.
The Breakfast in the Gallery
It is served as a buffet in that gallery: freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade sponge cakes, Hervás sweets, local ham and cheeses, seasonal fruit, homemade quince paste and jams from its garden, with coffee, teas and cocoa. It costs €12 for adults and €7 for under-tens, VAT included, and is paid separately.
Booking and Cancelling
The website does not publish rates: ask for a price on 927 48 11 61, mobile 660 45 22 92 or at casarural@eljardindelconvento.com. You can cancel free up to seven days before arrival; within the last six days the first night is charged. It also says nothing about parking or dogs, so ask beforehand. For dinner without taking the car, the El Convento Restaurant is in the same district, and Nardi is on Calle Braulio Navas.
- **Hotel Spa Sinagoga** (Spa hotel): The Hotel
A three-star hotel in the town centre of Hervás, on Avenida de la Provincia, with views of the sierra and its chestnut groves. As well as the rooms it has a restaurant, a bar-café, function rooms, a spa with treatments and an outdoor pool that opens according to the season. The website says it has adapted access. Check-in is from 14:00; late check-out can be requested, subject to availability.
The Rooms
There are three types. The standard double or twin has wifi, air conditioning, central heating, parquet floor, desk, minibar, hairdryer, telephone, wake-up service and a flat-screen satellite television. The superior double adds an extra-large bed. The junior suite is larger, with a sitting area and a hydromassage bath. All three have a balcony with views of the Ambroz valley, which is what gives the stay its character. The website does not say how many rooms there are of each type.
The Spa
The circuit includes a dynamic pool, jacuzzi, foot bath, hammam, bithermal shower, mist shower and heated loungers. There is also a menu of facial and body treatments, massages, manicure and pedicure, which can be downloaded as a PDF from its website. You must bring a swimming cap, flip-flops, swimsuit and bathrobe or towel; the cap is required to enter the pool. Spa bookings are made by email at informacion@hotelsinagoga.com. The website does not publish spa hours, the price of a single entry or a minimum age: ask when booking if you are going with children.
Packages and Prices
The hotel publishes several plans: a relax package, a romantic experience for two adults and a spa circuit with lunch, which includes 60 minutes of circuit and a meal at the restaurant for €25 per person Monday to Friday and €30 on Sundays, with advance booking and subject to availability. For New Year's Eve it advertises two getaways, at €130 and €147.50 per person in a standard double room, VAT included. For the price of the room without a plan, see its booking engine.
The Restaurant
It serves traditional Extremaduran cooking with a varied daily menu, and the café has its own list of drinks, snacks and dishes, which can also be consulted as a PDF. The website does not publish kitchen hours.
Who It Suits and What Is Nearby
It suits couples looking for a restful weekend and families who want a pool in summer. For getting around the district, Plasencia is about 30 km away and the Jerte Valley 36 km, according to the hotel, with the A-66 motorway close; Salamanca is an hour by car.
From the hotel you walk down to the Jewish quarter and the church of Santa María. For getting out into the countryside, the Temblar chestnut trees and the Greenway by bike from Béjar to Hervás are two day outings. If you prefer to dine out, the El Convento Restaurant is in the centre. Hotel telephone: 927 481 191.

## By bike: By Bike on the Vía Verde de la Plata
Hervás is the end of the prettiest stretch of the Vía Verde de la Plata, the old Ruta de la Plata railway. You do not need to bring a bike: Bicis Ambroz takes you up to Béjar or Puerto de Béjar and you ride down at your own pace. If you come with your own, you can continue down the valley to Aldeanueva del Camino or Plasencia.
Presupuesto orientativo: 80–130 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're cycling
- **Hospedería Valle del Ambroz Hotel** (Hotel, desde 75 € / night): A Trinitarian Convent Arranged Around the Cloister
The hotel occupies the former convent of the Trinitarians, from the 17th century, on the Plaza del Hospital, in the El Convento district. It is one of the establishments of the public Hospederías de Extremadura network and has four stars. The rehabilitation left the cloister as the axis: around it are the rooms, with light and water. The library shows the original walls and holds books by Extremaduran authors, and the Los Castaños hall can be hired for weddings and celebrations.
Classic Wing or New Wing: the 26 Rooms
There are four types. Standard doubles; doubles with views, which look onto the Sierra del Pinajarro; superior doubles, larger, of which the website describes one with views of the village and traditional style and another of new construction and contemporary décor; and singles. When booking you can ask for the classic or the new part. All have air conditioning and heating, safe, pillow menu, hairdryer, television and wifi, and there is room service and adapted rooms.
The House Table and the Game Menu
The hotel has a breakfast room and café, and the El Convento Restaurant, serving traditional Extremaduran cooking with modern touches. This season it serves the network's 2026-2027 game menu, from €55 and open also to those who do not sleep at the hotel: wild boar loin salad, stewed quail fritter, creamy fallow-deer rice, stewed venison with Almoharín figs and a white chocolate soup, with wines from the Ribera del Guadiana. Book by phone on 927 47 48 28.
What It Costs and the Offers
The Hospederías website gives rates from €74.95 a night and a 15% discount on the official rate for the over-60s. There are gourmet and romantic getaway packages from €199 and a Christmas Eve one from €271.90; see what each includes before choosing. Bookings go through the website, on 900 101 462 or the hotel's 927 474 828. The page does not publish check-in and check-out times, or whether there is parking or dogs are accepted: ask when booking.
The Pool, for 2027
The pool and garden, which look onto the Pinajarro, are closed until the start of the 2027 season. If you are travelling in autumn or winter do not count on them.
On Foot from the Cloister
Next door you have the country house El Jardín del Convento and the church of San Juan Bautista. Going down towards the centre you reach the Jewish quarter and Calle Braulio Navas, where the guided tours leave and where Nardi is, for eating outside the hotel.
- **El Jardín del Convento Country House** (Country house): The Family House on the Plaza del Convento
El Jardín del Convento is at Plaza del Convento, 22, in the district named after the former Trinitarian convent, today the Hospedería Valle del Ambroz, which is next door. The house was built in the mid-19th century as a family home and remained so until it was opened to guests: the restoration lasted from 1999 to 2001 and respected almost all of the original layout, symmetrical, with spacious rooms and corridors and high ceilings. Part of the stone walls and the chestnut-wood structure remain visible. Hervás Tourism has it registered as a three-star country house.
It is accommodation by the room. From the door you can walk to the Jewish quarter and the Corredera, in the centre of the village.
Seven Rooms, Each with Its Own Size
All have a bathroom with shower, heated towel rail and hairdryer, heating with individual control, air conditioning, television and free wifi, and the website gives the square metres of each:

Room 1, onto the square, 16 m²: 135 cm bed and the house's original clay-tile floor.
Rooms 2 and 3, onto the garden, on the first floor: 17 m² with 150 cm bed and 12.5 m² with 135 cm bed; room 3 is also rented as a single.
Room 4, onto the garden, 29 m²: 160 by 200 cm bed and space for two extra beds.
Room 5, onto the square, 30 m²: two 90 cm beds and a 140 cm sofa bed.
Room 6, onto the square, 30 m²: suite-style, with a bedroom with a 150 cm bed and a sitting room with two trundle beds.
Room 7, on the ground floor and adapted for people with reduced mobility: 39 m², wood-burning fireplace, adapted bathroom with underfloor heating and up to four people.

The Cottage, at the Bottom of the Garden
Apart from the house there is a stone building on the left side of the garden, of 80 m² between ground floor and attic. Downstairs, a sitting room with wood-burning fireplace, kitchen and bathroom; upstairs, two attic bedrooms separated by a door, one with a 135 cm bed and the other with two 90 cm beds. It has its own patch of lawn with awning and garden furniture, and the house recommends it for couples with children.
A Thousand Metres of Box, Vegetable Garden and Wisteria
Behind the house, facing south-south-west, the garden covers about 1,000 m² and preserves its 19th-century layout: geometric paths between century-old box hedges, with vegetable garden and fruit trees. It has benches and tables dotted around and discreet lighting for going out at night. On the first floor, a 65 m² terrace covered by a wisteria looks onto the garden and the sierra; on the ground floor, the 57 m² glazed gallery is the dining room and sitting room.
The Breakfast in the Gallery
It is served as a buffet in that gallery: freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade sponge cakes, Hervás sweets, local ham and cheeses, seasonal fruit, homemade quince paste and jams from its garden, with coffee, teas and cocoa. It costs €12 for adults and €7 for under-tens, VAT included, and is paid separately.
Booking and Cancelling
The website does not publish rates: ask for a price on 927 48 11 61, mobile 660 45 22 92 or at casarural@eljardindelconvento.com. You can cancel free up to seven days before arrival; within the last six days the first night is charged. It also says nothing about parking or dogs, so ask beforehand. For dinner without taking the car, the El Convento Restaurant is in the same district, and Nardi is on Calle Braulio Navas.
- **Hotel Spa Sinagoga** (Spa hotel): The Hotel
A three-star hotel in the town centre of Hervás, on Avenida de la Provincia, with views of the sierra and its chestnut groves. As well as the rooms it has a restaurant, a bar-café, function rooms, a spa with treatments and an outdoor pool that opens according to the season. The website says it has adapted access. Check-in is from 14:00; late check-out can be requested, subject to availability.
The Rooms
There are three types. The standard double or twin has wifi, air conditioning, central heating, parquet floor, desk, minibar, hairdryer, telephone, wake-up service and a flat-screen satellite television. The superior double adds an extra-large bed. The junior suite is larger, with a sitting area and a hydromassage bath. All three have a balcony with views of the Ambroz valley, which is what gives the stay its character. The website does not say how many rooms there are of each type.
The Spa
The circuit includes a dynamic pool, jacuzzi, foot bath, hammam, bithermal shower, mist shower and heated loungers. There is also a menu of facial and body treatments, massages, manicure and pedicure, which can be downloaded as a PDF from its website. You must bring a swimming cap, flip-flops, swimsuit and bathrobe or towel; the cap is required to enter the pool. Spa bookings are made by email at informacion@hotelsinagoga.com. The website does not publish spa hours, the price of a single entry or a minimum age: ask when booking if you are going with children.
Packages and Prices
The hotel publishes several plans: a relax package, a romantic experience for two adults and a spa circuit with lunch, which includes 60 minutes of circuit and a meal at the restaurant for €25 per person Monday to Friday and €30 on Sundays, with advance booking and subject to availability. For New Year's Eve it advertises two getaways, at €130 and €147.50 per person in a standard double room, VAT included. For the price of the room without a plan, see its booking engine.
The Restaurant
It serves traditional Extremaduran cooking with a varied daily menu, and the café has its own list of drinks, snacks and dishes, which can also be consulted as a PDF. The website does not publish kitchen hours.
Who It Suits and What Is Nearby
It suits couples looking for a restful weekend and families who want a pool in summer. For getting around the district, Plasencia is about 30 km away and the Jerte Valley 36 km, according to the hotel, with the A-66 motorway close; Salamanca is an hour by car.
From the hotel you walk down to the Jewish quarter and the church of Santa María. For getting out into the countryside, the Temblar chestnut trees and the Greenway by bike from Béjar to Hervás are two day outings. If you prefer to dine out, the El Convento Restaurant is in the centre. Hotel telephone: 927 481 191.
### Servicios
- **Railway Interpretation Centre**: In the old station, beside the Greenway · exhibition on the Ruta de la Plata train, free entry

## As a family: Downhill Biking, Narrow Streets and Chestnut Trees

Hervás works very well with children: the Greenway is almost all downhill, the narrowest street in Spain is walked in two steps and in autumn the valley fills with activities for them. The streets of the Jewish quarter are cobbled and sloping: a baby carrier is better than a pushchair.

### What Works Best
The Greenway from Béjar to Hervás, with children's bikes, trailers and seats

Finding the Travesía del Moral in the Jewish quarter

The Roman arch at Cáparra, free and outdoors

The children's activities of Magic Autumn, in October and November

### Where to Sleep
Hotel Hospedería Valle del Ambroz, with spacious rooms

Hotel Spa Sinagoga, with a seasonal pool

### Where to Eat
El Convento Restaurant, in the hotel

Nardi is a long menu for small children: better the à la carte

### Bear in Mind
On the Greenway, the first tunnel at Béjar has no lighting

The morning free tour lasts an hour and a half

Cáparra is closed on Sunday afternoons

### Qué hacer as a family
- Hervás Jewish Quarter
- Vía de la Plata Greenway by Bike, from Béjar to Hervás
- Church of Santa María and the Castle Viewpoint
- Guided Tour of the Hervás Jewish Quarter
- Magic Autumn in the Ambroz Valley
- Chestnut Trees of El Temblar, in Segura de Toro
- Cáparra Roman Site

## With teenagers: Thirty Kilometres by Bike and a Roman Arch

With teenagers, the bike is the plan: they can go on ahead by themselves along the Greenway, without cars, and extend to Aldeanueva if they have energy left. The rest of the day, the Jewish quarter and Cáparra.

### What Works Best
The Greenway from Béjar to Aldeanueva del Camino, 30 km of intermediate difficulty

The tetrapylon arch at Cáparra, over the Roman road

Magic Autumn, with an MTB ride, orienteering and astronomy

The sunset free tour of the Jewish quarter

### Where to Sleep
Hotel Spa Sinagoga, with a spa

El Jardín del Convento, with a garden

### Where to Eat
Sésamo, in the Jewish quarter

Nardi, if they fancy trying chef's cooking

### Bear in Mind
Some Magic Autumn activities require prior registration

The Pérez Comendador-Leroux museum is closed on weekend afternoons

### Qué hacer with teenagers
- Hervás Jewish Quarter
- Vía de la Plata Greenway by Bike, from Béjar to Hervás
- Magic Autumn in the Ambroz Valley
- Cáparra Roman Site

## Consejos

### Go in autumn on a weekend
You coincide with Otoño Mágico and the chestnut woods in colour. Book lunch before you set out.

### Ride down, don't ride up
The Vía Verde from Béjar to Hervás is almost all downhill: let them take you up.

### Check the museum opening times
The Pérez Comendador-Leroux Museum is closed on Mondays and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### What is there to see in Hervás in a day?
The Jewish quarter with the Travesía del Moral, the church of Santa María, the Fuente Chiquita bridge and the Pérez Comendador-Leroux Museum. If you have the afternoon free, a stretch of the Vía Verde.

### How long does it take from Cáceres to Hervás?
An hour and twenty minutes by car, about 113 km along the A-66.

### When is Otoño Mágico in the Ambroz Valley?
From early October until the last weekend of November, with activities in the eight villages of the valley.

### Can you do the Vía Verde de la Plata with children?
Yes. From Béjar to Hervás it is 23 km, almost always downhill, and Bicis Ambroz hires out children's bikes, trailers and seats.

### Where do you eat in Hervás on a Sunday?
Nardi and Sésamo are open on Sunday at lunchtime; book, because they are small.

### Which is the narrowest street in Hervás?
The Travesía del Moral, in the Jewish quarter, barely half a metre wide.