Vía de la Plata Route_English

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“via lata or balata; the cobbled path“

Introduction

C or n A alv lc o ué sc ar C .d e D . A ld An ea to de nio C l ác C an er es o C as ar de C añ C ác av er er es G rim al al do G al ist eo C ar ca bo O so liv a de A P ld ea . nu ev Ba a ño s de M .

vía de la plata route

The ancient Via Lata, "wide path" in Latin, or Balata, "road" in Arabic, that linked Emerita Augusta (Mérida) with Asturica Augusta (Astorga), is today one of the most important challenges for hikers from all over the world. Its Cáceres section runs through some of the most important places of the province: Alcuéscar and its Santa Lucía del Trampal basilica, the monumental city of Cáceres, Galisteo, Archaeological site of Cáparra or the Ambroz Valley are some of them.

notas

Did you know that...? The "Alba-Plata" project emerged in 1996 with the aim of promoting the ecological, cultural, architectural and ethnographic wealth of Vía de la Plata in Extremadura. One of its important undertaking Cáceres was the signalling and division of the road into 17 stages of about 20 km, along with more than 500 granite milestones that guide the traveller about the condition of the track through a system of colours.

Santa Lucía del Trampal (Alcuéscar)

Mayoralgo Castle (Aldea del Cano)

Our tour of Vía de la Plata (The Silver Route) begins in the south of the province of Cáceres at the Cornalvo Natural Park. We will go along its western border until we reach Alcuéscar; here we can find the first hostel (the peculiarity of this hostel is that it is joined to an old bull ring) and the Visigoth basilica of Santa Lucía del Trampal, located 3 km from the town. The Vía de la Plata, whose origins date back to the 2nd-century B.C., was one of the vital component of the Roman road network. The paved road with continuous transit of goods, troops, traders and travellers, witnessed the coming up of new infrastructure in the Cáceres province such as theatres, temples, aqueducts, baths, bridges or fortifications; apart from serving as a channel to spread the Roman culture, its language and lifestyle.

Ro m e

Vía de la Plata Interpretation Centre Baños de Montemayor Tel. 927 488 048 http://viaplata.gobex.es/ Cáparra Roman Town and Interpretation Centre Tel. 927 199 485

We continue walking through the meadows and towns such as Casas de don Antonio or Aldea del Cano, watching old remains of the route like the Mayoralgo castle or the Garabato castle, bridges and reused milestones as that of a postman, with a hollow as if mail is delivered or taken.

Sign posts 26

Vía de la Plata Route


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