By Jo Williams
Aroche is located at the far western edge of the
Sierra close to the Portuguese border. One of the least visited
places in the Sierra, it is nevertheless worth exploring for its
rich history and great location. Aroche is a hilltop village, its
whitewashed houses flanking the sides of a restored medieval castle.
It is surrounded by magnificent countryside rich in wildlife, including
the rare black vulture, with the Picos de Aroche to the north and
the Sierra
Pelada y Rivera Aserrador to the south.
The castle was built on the remains of an Almoravid
fortress dating from the 12th century. It was reconstructed as part
of the Banda Gallega series of defensive fortifications ordered
by Sancho IV at the end of the 13th century to fight the Portuguese.
In the early 19th century the village built a small bullring within
its walls.
Nearby is the impressive Iglesia de la Asunción,
designed in the 15th century by several architects who worked on
the cathedral in Seville; the most famous being Hernán Ruíz.
It was built on the site of 14th-century church and has Mudéjar,
Gothic and Renaissance architectual elements.
Aroche has over 100 sites with prehistoric and Roman
remains, many of which can be seen in the village's interesting
Museo Arqueológico. Also worth a look is
the Museo del Santo Rosario with an extensive collection
of over 1,000 rosaries from people all over the world; among the
most famous contributors are Mother Teresa and Franco.
Walks
You can visit the Picos de Aroche, a granite outcrop,
by taking the Encinasola HV2112 road north of Aroche. You pass the
Aroche Embalse (reservoir) on your left. Take the left towards the
signposted La Contienda. From here there is a 6km-long footpath
climbing the Sierra de las Contiendas to the Aroche peak of 716m,
passing the Picos de Aroche to the south. There are some great birdwatching
opportunities here for seeing birds of prey wheeling overhead.
There are two footpaths to Cortegana. The 12-km
PR-A2/GR-42.1 leaves Aroche from Calle Torre Alta, crossing the
River Chanza quite near to the N433 and then climbing up to the
Alto de la Garrapata for some great views. Alternatively, there
is the much longer and more challenging 21-km PR-A2 route south
of the Chanza river.
A much longer walk is the 22km track, the GR-42,
from Aroche to Cumbres de Enmedio, crossing the Múrtigas
river valley.
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