The ‘Cañada Real Burgalesa’ is one of the nine main drovers roads found on the Iberian Peninsula. From the Portuguese border in Valencia de Alcántara (Cáceres), where one can find ancient dolmens, this drovers road runs northeast through Membrío and Alcántara. Here it crosses the Tajo river on the back of an impressive roman bridge hailing from the I century.
It skirts the border through Piedras Albas and Zarza la Mayor, and cuts through Sierra de Gata via the Perales mountain pass at the boundary between Extremadura and Castile and León. In the nearby Perosín Inn, the king’s officials would charge the shepherds for their use of this drovers road.
The road meets the Portuguese border once again in Fuenteguinaldo, from where secondary drovers roads used to reach Sierra de la Estrella.
It then runs alongside the walls of Ciudad Rodrigo, after which it dips into magnificent dehesas of ilex and gall oak, sharing the pastures with the renowned ‘ganaderías bravas’ cattle of Campo Charro.
Crossing the Tormes river via the city of Salamanca, this drovers road runs through Medina del Campo and crossing the Duero river via Puente Duero.
It enters Valladolid by way of the Antequera pinewood and continues across the Cerrato hills, skirting the city of Lerma and reaching the amazing summer pastures of the Urbión mountains and Sierra de la Demanda as the road arrives at Tolbaños and Barbadillo del Pez.
Photo gallery of the ‘Cañada Real Burgalesa'
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