# Autumn in Hervás and the Ambroz Valley, three hours from Madrid

Two nights in Hervás when the chestnut trees turn yellow: the Vía Verde by bike from Béjar, the Jewish quarter with a guide, the chestnut grove and the Otoño Mágico festivities.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/hervas-and-the-ambroz-valley/itineraries/autumn-hervas-ambroz-valley-from-madrid

Dónde: Hervás and the Ambroz Valley

Hervás is about 290 km from Madrid, a little over three hours by car, in the north of the province of Cáceres. In October and November the Ambroz Valley is another place: the chestnut groves and oak woods turn yellow and red, the air smells of damp earth and the eight villages of the valley celebrate the Otoño Mágico, with routes, markets and activities every weekend. Two nights are enough to ride the Vía Verde down by bike, get to know the Jewish quarter with a guide and walk into the chestnut grove.

## How do you get there from Madrid?

There are two routes of similar length. By the A-5 to Navalmoral de la Mata, the dual carriageway to Plasencia and the A-66 north. Or by the AP-6 and Ávila to Béjar and the A-66 south, entering the valley from above. Without a car it isn't practical: there is no train and the valley buses are few.

## Where to sleep?

AccommodationWhereFor whom

Hotel Hospedería Valle del AmbrozFormer Trinitarian conventFour stars, cloister and library; from €74.95 a night

El Jardín del ConventoPlaza del ConventoA country house with a garden and homemade breakfast, seven rooms and a cottage

Hotel Spa SinagogaAvenida de la ProvinciaThree stars with a spa, convenient for arriving by car

## What is the Otoño Mágico?

The autumn festival of the Ambroz Valley, which in 2026 reaches its 29th edition, from 4 October to 29 November. Every weekend there are hiking routes, music, mycology, markets, children's activities and sport in one of the eight villages: Abadía, Aldeanueva del Camino, Baños de Montemayor, Casas del Monte, La Garganta, Gargantilla, Hervás and Segura de Toro. Some activities require registration: check the programme on the Hervás Tourism website before you leave.

## With children

It is a good family weekend: the Vía Verde is almost all downhill and Bicis Ambroz has children's bikes, trailers and seats; the Jewish quarter is explored like a maze; and the Otoño Mágico programmes children's activities.

## El plan

### Friday · 20:30 · Arrival and dinner in the Jewish quarter
Leave the car outside the Jewish quarter and walk down. Dinner at Sésamo, on Calle La Cuestecilla, open Friday and Saturday from 21:00 to 22:30: book.

### Saturday · 9:00 · Vía Verde by bike from Béjar
Bicis Ambroz takes you up to Béjar and you ride 23 km down among chestnut trees, almost all downhill, to the Iron Bridge in Hervás. About two and a half hours; from €23 with bike, helmet and transfer.

### Saturday · 13:30 · Lunch at Nardi
Seasonal Extremaduran cooking, with tasting menus and à la carte, on Calle Braulio Navas. Open at midday Wednesday to Sunday: book.

### Saturday · 17:00 · Free tour at dusk through the Jewish quarter
With Visitas Hervás, official guide: the history of the Jews and conversos of Hervás, the Travesía del Moral and the Fuente Chiquita bridge, in the last light. You pay what you think it was worth.

### Sunday · 10:00 · The chestnut grove
If it is picking season, ask at the tourist office about access to the Castaños del Temblar, in Segura de Toro, trees 700 and 800 years old. Or take the Castañar Gallego visit with a biologist with Visitas Hervás. If it coincides, join an Otoño Mágico activity.

### Sunday · 12:30 · Pérez Comendador-Leroux Museum and the drive back
The Dávila palace, with sculpture, painting and a garden, is open on Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 and is free. Have something on the Corredera and set off for Madrid: you arrive about 19:00.

## Un consejo más

Book everything at once: in autumn, the morning bikes, Nardi and Sésamo fill up on Saturdays.

## Cuándo no ir

Going on a November weekend without looking at the programme: some Otoño Mágico activities have limited places.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Madrid to Hervás?
A little over three hours by car, about 290 km via Plasencia or via Ávila and Béjar.

### When are the chestnut trees in colour?
In October and November, coinciding with the Otoño Mágico.

### Where to sleep in Hervás?
At the Hospedería Valle del Ambroz, at El Jardín del Convento or at the Hotel Spa Sinagoga.

### Can the Vía Verde be done with children?
Yes, from Béjar to Hervás it is almost all downhill and there are bikes and trailers for children.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hospedería Valle del Ambroz 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**: 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**: 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.

## Dónde dormir if you're cycling
- **Hospedería Valle del Ambroz 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**: 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**: 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.