THE VALLE DEL JERTE AND LA VERA
| This place of easy
access is situated in the noth - east of Caceres and has a border with the province of
Avila. It has always been a highly used natural passage which connects the Extremaduran
plains with the Castilian meseta. What nowadays in the N -110 which joins Plasencia and
Soria used to be the Real Path between Extremaduran and Castille. It goes through the
Jerte tectonic fault from north to south. From the Valley, the sharp summits become sharper,from one side you can see the solid spurs which form the Gredos eastern massif, from the other tormantos, the Saint Bernebe Mountain Range, the Tralasierra mountains and the Bejar mountain Range. These mountains provide the Jerte river with clear water and make deep gorges where the pintona trout lives.
The vegetation is so heavy and varied that results amazing. This allows us to distinguish different ecosystems: big forests with chestnut trees, oaks... where a lot of animals live ( wild boars, fox, wils cats, badgers...). We canalso see yew trees and holly trees on the banks of the rivers which run througt the gorges. But the most surprisin feature is the great amount of cherry trees which are grown a long the patches in the " Valle del Jerte " and which make it famous thank to their fruit: The Cherry.In spring, the cherry one - crop farming allows us to enjoy one of the most beautiful landscapes in the area. The whiteness of the cherry blossons cover the Valley, astonishing anybody who comes to see it. Witthout any doubt, the " Valle del Jerte " region has a strong personality shown in many details related to the way of live of its inhabitants who have kept a lot of festivities, paraliturgical ritual, traditions and customs which are an etnografical and anthropolical legacy interesting enough to delight anybody who is interested in the rural culture. The " Valle del Jerte " region has a great amount of valves which fulfil the desires of anybody who comes to know it without any perjudices. On the other hand, " La Vera " is a region clearly defined by its landscape, water and rural architecture three different but inseparable characteristics. The villages are situated at a point as if they wanted to escape from the cold summits and from the hot valleis.These villages are well known thanks to their well preserved architecture, defined by Unamuno as follows: "the houses, with their wooden struccture, their eaves, their projections, their lines and outlines which, at every step, break the profile of the narrow street, cause a sensation of something organic and not mechanic, something which has been made by itself and not by men.. the narrow street curls up, and it is imposible tosee from one end to the other. It is not a straight channel but rather the course of a river which winds. And you can feel the privaci of the sahade". It was also the last home of one of the most powerful men in the Earth, Carlos V. who went to La Vera from Gredos and said: " I won`t go to another port in my live but the one of death "and so he did. But in addition to the history of our region there are also a lot of legends and ancestral traditions such as : The " Jarramplas ", the " Empalaos " in Valverde de la Vera or the " Pero Palo " in Losar de la Vera which are typical of the upper Extremaduran Easter. |
