Dehesa de la Luz & Tagus International Natural Park
The hills and valleys surrounding Alcántara form part of the Parque Natural Tajo Internacional, a vast cross-border protected area shared with Portugal that harbours some of the most biodiverse dehesa woodland in Europe. This is one of the few places on the Iberian Peninsula where you have a realistic chance of spotting the Iberian lynx in the wild.
Wildlife of the Dehesa
The dehesa — savannah-like woodland of ancient cork oaks and stone pines grazed by black Iberian pigs and fighting bulls — is the defining landscape of this corner of Extremadura. At dawn and dusk, red deer, wild boar and roe deer move openly through the clearings, while Spanish imperial eagles and black vultures patrol the thermals overhead.
The Iberian lynx was reintroduced to this area as part of a successful breeding programme; sightings are not guaranteed but are reported regularly by hikers on the trails between Alcántara and the Portuguese border. Early morning drives on the EX-117 at low speed offer the best chance.
Walking and River Access
The GR-111 long-distance footpath passes through the Alcántara municipality, offering waymarked routes through dehesa, along Tagus tributaries and past Roman milestones still standing in the scrub. A particularly rewarding half-day walk descends from the town to the riverbank below the Roman bridge, following a mule track used for centuries by local fishermen.
The Tagus here holds large-mouth bass, pike and barbel, and catch-and-release fishing is permitted in designated sections with a local licence available from the Ayuntamiento. Even non-anglers enjoy sitting on the granite boulders beside the green river watching kingfishers and otters work the shallows.
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