Sierra de San Pedro
It is located in the central and western area of Extremadura on the provincial limit of Cáceres and Badajoz. It is about 70 km long and extends west to the Portuguese border and east to the Sierra de Montánchez, both being the foothills of the Toledo mountains.
It was declared a Special Protection Area for Birds (ZEPA) in 1989 and a Special Conservation Area (ZEC) in 1998. The Natural Area covers an area of 83,217 hectares distributed among the municipalities of Cáceres, Aliseda, Herreruela, Salorino, Membrío, Valencia del Alcántara, San Vicente, Albuquerque, Villar del Rey, La Roca de la Sierra and Puebla de Ovando. It is a typical Extremaduran interior mountain range, of modest and somewhat steep relief, which rises over the Extremadura peneplain with an average altitude between 300 and 700 meters. It is formed by quartzite rocky alignments, separated by valleys of a slate nature. Cork, acorn-fed pigs and hives for the production of honey and pollen have been classic farms that still exist today.
The mountain range has two outstanding hills, Cerro Estenilla and Cerro Estena. The first, with 633 m. high is the highest point of the quartzite alignment, which runs parallel to the path of this route to the NE. The second is in the alignment of quartzitic nature and is the highest, 675 m, of this Sierra de San Pedro and, therefore, constitutes a privileged observatory.
In recent years, the hunting of deer, and to a lesser extent wild boar, fallow deer and mouflon, has been an important source of income and, consequently, a revaluation of these lands. We must mention the small game, especially wood pigeons, very abundant in these lands during the winter.
Cork bag. The first harvest (bomizo) is usually carried out at 20-25 years of age and has little quantity. The second (second hand) and subsequent ones are made every 8-10 years, have better quality and are used for plugs, avilantes, toys, coatings, crafts, etc. It is done manually by pairs of axes (collars), who take out plates (panas) that will be cut by the splitter and then stacked on the ground. The ideal date is from June 15 to August 15.
Ballesteros Corner
Cáceres district, with a population of 226 inhabitants, is one of the few examples of a town of colonization in dry lands. It was founded in the 60s by the National Institute of Colonization after expropriating the pasture of more than 2,500 hectares belonging to the heirs of the Marquis of Castroserna.
