Alagón del Río: Colonial History, Cultural Heritage and Circular Route

Alagón del Río is located in the Valle del Alagón in the north of Extremadura, between the historically and culturally significant cities of Plasencia and Coria.

Landscape

The municipality's land is used predominantly for agriculture. Irrigated crops mainly include fruit trees, as well as maize, tobacco and various types of vegetables. There are also grazing areas for the region's significant cattle farming. Irrigated crops and grazing areas represent two distinct agricultural aspects that you can consider separately when planning your themed itinerary.

History

Alagón del Río was established as a colonisation village to accommodate the populations of Granadilla and Martinebrón (Sotoserrano). Their villages would have been flooded by the construction of the Gabriel y Galán Reservoir.

From 1957 onwards, clearing and levelling work began on the dehesa where the new village and the cultivation plots were to be created. In April 1958, the first group of colonists from Granadilla arrived; it consisted of 16 families.

Culture

The Centro de Interpretación de la Colonización del Valle del Alagón documents the profound transformation of the Valle del Alagón through the introduction of irrigated agriculture in the mid-20th century. It can be visited in Alagón del Río.

Among the sacred heritage is the image of Cristo de la Salud. The image is a crucifix from the mid-16th century, attributed to or influenced by the Castilian school. The 16th-century Cristo de la Salud is housed in the Iglesia del Espíritu Santo. The image comes from Granadilla and reached Alagón del Río after a brief stay in Cáceres.

The Iglesia del Espíritu Santo was inaugurated on 10 November 1958. Cristo de la Salud was chosen by a show of hands in Alagón del Río as the patron saint of the village.

The festivals of Alagón featuring Cristo de la Salud were first organised in late summer and early autumn, at the same time as the end of the tomato, maize and pepper harvests.

An individual ticket or admission pass is required to access the facilities.

For further orientation, you can also visit the location pages for Cañamero, El Batán, Malpartida De Plasencia, Rosalejo, Cabezabellosa, El Gordo, Jarilla and Villanueva De La Vera.

For your travel planning, you can deliberately consider the themes alongside one another: the agricultural landscape, the history of the village, the sacred cultural heritage and the mountain bike circular route represent different focal points, without any one of them replacing the other perspectives.

Activities

The “Alagón del Río - ruta de los frutales” route is a 10.9 km mountain bike route arranged as a circular course near Alagón del Río.

When choosing a holiday apartment in Alagón del Río, the travel period, preferred room category and the respective cancellation policies may reflect different requirements. These details can be checked separately before you decide on an offer and compared independently of one another.

For the overarching travel overview: Cáceres.