4x4 Tour through the Garganta de los Infiernos

Private cars are not allowed into the Garganta de los Infiernos Nature Reserve: only a few companies have permission to take their customers along the tracks. Going up with them in a four-wheel drive is a way to reach Los Pilones without doing the trail, or to travel through the gorge with someone who tells you what you are seeing. It suits anyone who cannot or does not want to walk an hour uphill, and anyone who wants to understand the place as well as swim in it.

Two hours in a Land Rover and 300 metres on foot

The short route from Garganta de los Infiernos, the company based in Jerte, lasts about two hours. You travel in a Land Rover along the middle stretch of the gorge, using low range for the stone crossings, and at the end you get out and walk about 300 metres to Los Pilones. There the water has carved eight large potholes into the bedrock along about 150 metres of riverbed. In summer there is time to get in them.

It costs €20 for those over 10 and €15 for under-10s. It includes an official nature guide, third-party liability and accident insurance and, except in summer, binoculars and a telescope to share. The website says the 4x4 routes through the gorge leave from their base at calle del Cristo, 31, in Jerte; confirm this when you book.

More hours in the reserve

If two hours feels too short, the same company has half-day outings: Waterfalls and Pilones (Cascadas y Pilones) and Paradise Swimming Spots (Baños paradisíacos), of about four hours, from €45, and Water Paths (Caminos del Agua), of five to six hours, from €55. The website does not detail their routes: ask where they go before choosing.

ValleAventura, from Cabezuela

ValleAventura, from Cabezuela del Valle, also runs a four-wheel-drive route through the reserve: it stops at Los Pilones, follows tracks among oaks and chestnut trees with views over the valley, stops at several viewpoints, and its guides explain the geology and wildlife, from birds of prey to the otter. It does not publish a price or duration: ask on 636 631 182 or at [email protected].

Full payment and a tiered cancellation policy

With Garganta de los Infiernos your place is not confirmed until you pay 100%. If you cancel, they keep 15% with more than 30 days' notice, 40% with less than 30, 60% at 15 days or less and everything at 7 days or less. Departures are not cancelled for rain. Dogs can come if you say so when booking; families with a dog ride in the back seats.

Bring comfortable clothes and footwear, hiking or sports shoes, and a small bottle of water per person; in summer, also swimwear, a towel, a cap and sun cream, preferably eco-friendly.

Coming back on foot another day

If you want to return to Los Pilones on your own another day, the trail to Los Pilones leaves from the Interpretation Centre, next to the reserve car park. The same company runs the cherry picking in season, which also ends at the pools.