Cabeza La Vaca: Chestnuts, Culture and Holiday Apartments

The Chestnut Fair was recognised as a Fiesta de Interés Turístico de Extremadura by a regional order dated 12 September 2025.

Nature

The Parque Periurbano de Conservación y Ocio La Pisá del Caballo is a protected peri-urban park. It was designated in 2005 and covers 19,000 square metres.

Cabeza La Vaca has around 256 hectares of chestnut forest; the harvested chestnuts are marketed through the local agricultural cooperative. The El Castañar route passes some of the oldest chestnut trees in the region as well as an original oak forest.

The Los Cortinales route begins at «Cuatro Caminos». From there, hiking trails lead through characteristic Sierra landscapes with chestnut, holm oak, cork oak and oak forests.

Trails

The Ruta de las Fuentes y del Agua is a two-kilometre urban circular walk with a low level of difficulty. The La Pisá del Caballo route begins at Plaza Vieja in Cabeza la Vaca and leads through a legendary landscape to a horseshoe-shaped, iron-rich spring.

The Las Cumbres route has a moderate physical difficulty but a high technical difficulty. It includes 400 metres of ascent and runs at elevations between 800 and 1,000 metres.

The different lengths, trail types and levels of difficulty make the routes easy to compare when planning your day.

Other destinations in the same overarching area include Jerez De Los Caballeros, Los Santos De Maimona, Alburquerque, Calera De León, La Zarza, Magacela, Oliva De Mérida and Fuentes De León.

Culture and History

According to tradition, Plaza Vieja stands on the site around which the first buildings of Cabeza la Vaca were constructed. Today, it is a paved recreational square with Portuguese-inspired mosaic paving.

The Church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles stands in Plaza de España in the centre of Cabeza la Vaca. Its construction spanned several centuries; only part of the main altarpiece remains from the original 15th-century building.

Construction work on the Torre del Reloj began in 1769; it was built in 1770 to house the town clock, and it could not be used until 1772.

The Fuente del Rollo stands in the centre of Cabeza la Vaca's main square and has four water outlets. Fuente Abajo is a 16th-century granite fountain with four water outlets and a marble cross; an inscription dates it to 1559.

The Plaza de Toros is protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC); the Junta de Extremadura granted it this status on 3 May 1989. It was built towards the end of the 18th century and later rebuilt with voluntary contributions from local residents.

The Cruz del Rollo was erected in 1600 as a symbol of judicial authority and a former pillory site, after Felipe II granted Cabeza la Vaca the title of town. The Ermita Ntra. Sra. de los Remedios was built between 1577 and 1583 in the late Mudéjar style of Baja Extremadura.

The Cruz de la calle Tordoya was erected in memory of a respected local figure.

Cuisine

The town's traditional culinary offerings include wine, oil, bread and traditional sweets such as Perunillas, Flores and Gañotes with honey, as well as Migas, “machacao” Gazpacho and Ensalá de papas.

Local bars and restaurants serve dishes such as fried Guarrito, grilled Pluma and Carrilleras en salsa.

Short local walks, woodland landscapes and more demanding mountain routes offer different types of excursions. On accommodation pages, travel dates, room categories and cancellation policies help with comparisons.

For the overarching travel overview: Badajoz.