🎵 Audio guide
The Umbría de Barbechoso (umbría meaning shady spot), a natural viewpoint in the Monfragüe Biosphere Reserve, can be found in the Sierra de Santa Catalina, which marks the southern limit of Mirabel’s terrain. The Umbría de Barbechoso trail is also known as the PR-CC 66, with an out-and-back section followed by a loop trail which allows us to discover a variety of different natural environments – the dehesa (a wooded grassland used for cattle grazing), abandoned olive groves which have turned into forest over the years and forests of chestnut, oak and strawberry trees – on the way to the Arroyo de Barbechoso.
The trail starts just below Mirabel Castle, beside the Peña de Acero picnic spot. We follow the road towards Pantano Rivera del Castaño from where we get scenic views of the dehesa and in the background, the Sierra de Santa Catalina, from where the Rivera del Castaño flows.
On the left there is a gate which gives access to the Dehesa Boyal, a beautiful example of Mediterranean forest, dotted with cork oak trees including many fine specimens. The dehesa is still used in the traditional way, for cattle grazing amongst other uses. The track winds through the trees to a gate where it splits in two.
We continue straight on and after 200m reach the cork oak tree “Padre Santo”, a listed tree, recognised as being of unique importance by the regional government of Extremadura. We retrace our steps and take the track on the left which descends towards the dehesa, continuing on this track until we reach the Rivera del Castaño.
We reach a gate and find ourselves on the last uphill stretch of trail before arriving at the summit, from where there are beautiful views to both the north and south. A perfect spot for getting a breath of fresh air and relaxing before taking the track which traverses the ridge, acting as a firebreak and which marks the southern limit of Mirabel’s land.
After just over two kilometres, we take a small path on the right. The beginning of this track is steep and we descend carefully to immerse ourselves little by little in a marvellous, fairy-tale forest. The trail, which is less steep now, becomes, in some parts, a tunnel through the oak, chestnut and strawberry trees.
We arrive at the Arroyo Barbechoso, where there are old farms on the banks of the stream, and we climb the path to discover the dehesa and the Sierra de los Canchos in the distance. We descend into the dehesa through the gate on our right then take the track on the left from the beginning of the loop trail.
We retrace our steps along the first part of the trail, now going uphill. We pass through the gate on our left and continue on the track out of the dehesa to take the road back to the castle gateway.
We retrace our steps along the first part of the trail, now going uphill. We pass through the gate on our left and continue on the track out of the dehesa to take the road back to the castle gateway.