At the Centro de Interpretación del Fósil de Navatrasierra, fossils from the Ordovician and Silurian come to life alongside information panels about marine life 450 million years ago. The area also offers striking viewpoints and historic sites. If you choose Navatrasierra for a trip, you can focus on Earth’s history, the landscape or the former pilgrim hospital.
Fossils and Earth’s history
The fossil centre displays specimens from the Ordovician and Silurian. Its panels focus on marine life 450 million years ago. The Centro also covers trilobites, molluscs, brachiopods and graptolites, as well as trace fossils such as Skolithos, Crucianas and Daedalus. In this way, viewing individual fossil groups is combined with a timeline of life in the ancient sea.
Check the centre’s practical opening details before setting out. This is especially helpful if visiting the exhibition is an essential part of your travel plans.
Views along the CC-20
The Canchos del Ataque can be seen from a roadside viewpoint at kilometre 36.5 of the CC-20 road from Guadalupe to Navatrasierra; there is no direct access to the rocks. At Risco Carbonero, the CC-20 at kilometre 34.5 leads right to a forest track that runs past the foot of Cerro Fortificado and up to the summit. Road conditions may vary. The two viewpoints therefore differ in how you approach them: a roadside viewpoint at the Canchos and a forest track up to the summit at Risco.
From Risco Carbonero, you can look west towards the Ibor-Guadalupe anticline and east towards the Guadarranque syncline. Together, the views illustrate the Appalachian relief typical of the region. The view is therefore more than a matter of direction: it also reveals the geological structure of the landscape.
Hospital del Obispo: history and landscape
The Hospital del Obispo served as an inn and resting place for pilgrims travelling to Guadalupe; it was most important in the 15th and 16th centuries. Part of the building has been restored. A small chapel survives in the east wing, and the original buttresses can be seen on the façade. These details give the historic site an architectural dimension of its own, in addition to its role as a resting place for pilgrims.
The name Cancho del Ataque also refers to history: it dates back to a battle fought in 1808 against French troops during the Peninsular War. At the entrance to the Hospital valley, the stream that rises there plunges down to form impressive waterfalls.
In the valley of the Hospital gorge, the peat bogs of the Hospital del Obispo form a fragile wetland measuring no more than 6,000 m². They must not be entered because of the risk of sinking and their ecological vulnerability. Mediterranean woodland and scrubland are also part of the Navatrasierra landscape. The endangered tree known as loro, also called lorera, grows along the mountain streams.
Festivals and routes
The patron saint festival in honour of Saint Thomas takes place on 21 and 22 December. The programme includes a mass, a procession with the saint and an auction of the carrying poles. On the first full weekend in August, there are popular festivities with open-air evening parties, games and children’s attractions. If you would like to plan your trip around one of these dates, check the latest programme in advance.
Other routes listed are Route 1 through the Sierra de Guadarranquejo and Route 2 through the Sierra de la Palomera. The main difference between the two descriptions is the mountain area named for each route.
Discover more destinations: Torrecillas De La Tiesa, Ruanes, Villasbuenas de Gata, Casillas De Coria, Portezuelo, Talayuela, Malpartida De Plasencia, Hervás.
For the wider travel overview: Cáceres.
