Pallares combines a rugged, lushly vegetated landscape with the Church of Santa María Magdalena and a gentle, fertile valley setting. The town lies on the northern foothills of the Sierra Morena, at an altitude of about 537 metres. Alongside its architecture, a specific 2025 edition of the Gastro Ruta and a celebration in honour of Santa María Magdalena also help shape the character of the town.
Valley and Landscape
The northern foothills of the Sierra Morena provide Pallares with its landscape setting. Within this setting, the town lies in a gentle, fertile valley at an altitude of around 537 metres; at the same time, the surrounding area is rugged and lushly vegetated. The shape of the valley, its elevation and its vegetation each reveal a different aspect of the landscape. If you would like to focus on the surroundings during your stay, this combination offers a specific point of reference. It provides a different focus from the church’s architecture and makes the landscape a subject in its own right alongside a visit to the town.
The Church of Santa María Magdalena
The Church of Santa María Magdalena is a small, completely whitewashed building with a vernacular architectural character, and it is currently open to visitors. Its square floor plan is divided into three naves, each comprising three bays. This creates nine identical sections of interior space, with four columns at the centre. Vaults with diagonal ribs and lunettes define the upper part of the interior. The bays divide the naves into individual sections, while the nine fields make the overall layout easy to take in.
Inside are a Baroque altarpiece, a wooden statue of Santa María Magdalena from the 18th century and a depiction of Christ from the same century. A depiction of Santa Isabel and a carved baptismal font each date from the 17th or 18th century. These works of art from different periods complement the church’s spatial layout. During your visit, you can focus both on the square plan and the central arrangement of columns, and on the individual pieces of church furnishings.
The Pallares Gastro Ruta
The sixteenth Pallares Gastro Ruta took place on 30 March 2025. It was organised by the Hermandad de San Isidro de Pallares in collaboration with the Ayuntamiento de Montemolín, Pallares y Santa María. The walk passed through the area’s beautiful landscapes and was about 13 kilometres long. In this edition, it started near the Ermita de San Isidro and returned at the end to the meadow by the pilgrimage chapel. A refreshment stop offered water, a ham sandwich and a glass of Clarete-Pitarra wine from Maguilla. The route and refreshments may vary from one edition to another. If you are planning to attend a different edition, check its date and specific details.
Celebration and Music
At a celebration in honour of Santa María Magdalena, a Eucharist was held in the church. The group “El Castellar” also performed traditional Jotas from Extremadura. The celebration thus brought together the religious occasion in the church and regional musical tradition, without implying a fixed annual programme.
When planning your visit, it is worth distinguishing the church, which is currently open to visitors, from the details about the Gastro Ruta: the route and refreshment information given here applies to the edition held on 30 March 2025. This lets you consider the church as a cultural highlight of your stay and assess a hike in detail only once the date and information for another edition have been confirmed.
Discover more destinations: Malpartida de la Serena, Solana De Los Barros, Guadiana del Caudillo, Calera De León, Fregenal De La Sierra, Santa Marta, Herrera Del Duque, Benquerencia De La Serena.
See the overview of the wider region: Badajoz.
