Free Guided Walks in the National Park

Monfragüe National Park organises its own guided walks every season, free and open to everyone. They are led by the park's environmental educators, who know every viewpoint and every nest, and they are the simplest way to understand what you are seeing without paying for a private guide. You only have to book a place.

What kinds of outing there are

The programme has two formats. The interpretive walks go on foot through Mediterranean scrub, the dehesa and the streams, and explain the vegetation, the wildlife and the history of the park. The birdwatching outings take place at the main viewpoints: La Tajadilla, Salto del Gitano and La Portilla del Tiétar, where you can see griffon vultures close up and, with luck and a telescope, other emblematic species of the park such as the black vulture, the Spanish imperial eagle or the black stork.

According to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, the outings last three to four hours and are of low or medium difficulty. They are for all audiences: they work well with children who can already walk for a while, especially the bird ones, because you walk little and look a lot. In addition to the fixed programme, the park sometimes calls one-off activities, such as those in its Conecta con Monfragüe series, which are published on the Central de Reservas.

When

The programme runs from March to June and in October, the most pleasant seasons and the ones with most life: spring, with the birds breeding, and autumn, when the hills cool down. In summer and winter there are no outings in the programme. The park warns that the calendar may change because of the weather or management needs.

How to book

You reserve a place at the Central de Reservas de los Parques Nacionales, online, or by phoning the Villarreal de San Carlos visitor centre, on 927 199 134. Each month's booking opens on the last Friday of the previous month and closes at 12:00 on the Friday before the activity. In spring the places sell out quickly: sign up the same day it opens. You can also write to [email protected].

What to bring and what to combine it with

Bring water, a cap, country footwear and, if you have them, binoculars. Clothes in muted colours help avoid scaring the animals. Remember the park's rules: dogs on a lead and no swimming or boating inside the National Park.

If you cannot find a place, you can walk the yellow trail to La Tajadilla or the green trail to Cerro Gimio on your own, or pay for a guided birdwatching outing, which runs all year. For a meal when you finish, the Restaurante Monfragüe is opposite the visitor centre.