What to see in Garganta la Olla

The landscape you see in the photograph belongs to a popular site known as La Olla throat. Is found in Estremadura, one of the autonomous communities that make up Spain and which is in the southwest of the country.

Would you like to go to know it, walk, see its landscapes, eat and spend some pleasant days now that the really beautiful days begin? So, read this article to see must to see in this beautiful corner of Extremadura.

La Olla throat

Officially it is a municipality that is within the Cáceres province and it has about a thousand inhabitants, nothing more. It is a site that from its geography is characterized by the carving of gorges, canyons, that is, grooves dug into the earth by the action of a river through time and a process called epigenesis. The result is a cleft, a canyon, generally with very vertical walls.

Specialists say the area has been populated for centuries since ancient Vettones forts have been found. The Visigoths also founded two monasteries, today in ruins. The first town was built in the High Middle Ages and it is this first town that is generally known as Garganta la Olla or Garganta de la Olla. The village is at the junction of two canyons, San Blas y la Mayor.

These lands were for some time in Arab hands and later returned to Christian hands. Jumping back in time, in times of the Civil War, it was under the nationalist side and it was throughout the 1982th century that its population began to decline due to the classic migration from the countryside to the city. Since XNUMX the town and its old buildings were declared Historic-Artistic Complex.

What to see in Garganta la olla

Its nature is enviable so it is great for any nature lover, but as we said, the town is a Historic-Artistic Complex so you have a bit of everything. Let's start with the first:

You can visit the Hermitage of San Martín, Hermitage of the Santísimo Cristo del Humilladero, House of the Inquisition and Church of San Lorenzo Mártir, with its Baroque organ and its 30-meter tower, for example. The second hermitage was built in the XNUMXth century and has undergone several renovations, but inside you can see a beautiful altar decorated with Talavera tiles and a XNUMXth century coat of arms.

There is also the House of the Dolls, old house that functioned as a brothel for the people of Emperor Charles V when he traveled and stayed in the Yuste Monastery. The house is colored blue, then and today, to recognize its particular function. The Post House It is a house used in the time of Carlos V to house travelers. There is also the Carvajal House, with its noble coat of arms, and all the beautiful streets of the Barrio de la Huerta.

Add the Twin houses, House of the Peña, House of girls of fortune, beggars and poor hospital or the Francisco Díaz House dating from 1573, which is one of the oldest in the town and has two floors with a framework of fired bricks, in the Mudejar style. Díaz was the master builder of the church at that time and he was a Basque who took care of the church and its tower.

La House of Félix Mesón Gómez It belonged to a family of good standing and on the façade you can see the shield cut into the center due to the close relationship they had with the Inquisition. The Parish House It dates from 1760 and continues to serve as the home of the local priest. The Chorrillo street It is the most important in town and has a small fountain as well. If you stop there, you can take a few seconds to see the urban landscape so full of old houses and wooden balconies.

Finally don't forget about Museum of the Inquisition, a small museum of horror with pumpkin, torture room and macabre elements that were applied on the prisoners, and the house of the Dukes of Alba that in the 21th century became the house of the contracting of silk (in the neighborhood de la Huerta, at number XNUMX).

Now it is the turn of natural landscapes. Obviously there are the gorges that are characteristic of the area. We have the Garganta Mayor, Garganta de la Piornala and Garganta de las Majadillas, for example. A good tour would include gorges, natural pools and pots. Many are at the entrance of the town itself if you come from Cuacos de Yuste. Precisely on the road you can stop at the viewpoint of La Serrana de La Vera.

Here is a statue of a woman, the protagonist of a legend according to which she, Isabel de Carvajal, a member of a distinguished and powerful local family, was abandoned on the altar by the nephew of the Bishop of Plasencia. So, out of revenge, the woman went to live in a cave in the mountains and to live she duped travelers and killed them. She was armed with a crossbow and a dagger and from then on she was known by the name of La Serrana.

If you go in summer, a good idea, you can take advantage of the natural pools of fresh water. You find them in the Garganta Mayor, just under the bridge on the route that takes you to the Yuste Monastery, just one kilometer from the town. If you are by car you can park on the side of the road and then walk. The Giant's Kettle It is the one under the bridge, sometimes it even has a beach bar to buy drinks and food. If you are not convinced, keep walking and you will find other pools.

You pass the bridge and there is a waterfall with a couple of ponds, calmer. If you keep walking up the river, along an unmarked path that enters and leaves the river, you will find more ponds of different sizes. You just have to search until you find one you like to hang out.

Finally, you can do some shopping: Vera paprika, trout, acorn beer, migas, cold cuts, and goat cheese, for example. This part of Extremadura is very beautiful so if you go by car you can jump from town to town trying different dishes, cooling off in the rivers, enjoying the summer.


Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*