The Vía de la Plata Nature Trail between Plasencia and Béjar will be completed before July 4

There is less to go before the Vía de la Plata Nature Trail is complete between Plasencia and Navalmoral de Béjar. As announced today by the General Director of Tourism, Francisco Martín Simón, before July 4, the 65 kilometers suitable for cycling and hiking will be ready, making it one of the longest of its kind in Spain.

Martín has held a meeting with the general director of Rural Development, Innovation and Agrifood Training of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), Isabel Bombal, in order to monitor the situation of the Nature Trails in the region.

The General Directorate of Tourism has been working since 2015 on the Nature Trails, carrying out infrastructure, conservation, adaptation, signaling and security work in collaboration with this ministry for a total amount of 10,454,732 euros, of which 3,028,130 euros have been contributed by the Junta de Extremadura through the General Directorate of Tourism and 7,426,602 euros by the MAPA.

In this meeting, in which both directors have been accompanied by their technical teams, they have addressed, among other issues, the works on the Vía de la Plata Nature Trail to cover the southern exit of the Plasencia tunnel and the signage of these routes . In this sense, there has been talk of how to carry out the convergence between the signaling manuals of both administrations, for which there will be a forthcoming coordination meeting.

To Monastery

Francisco Martín Simón, has referred to the issues discussed at this meeting as the MAPA’s commitment to open sections III and IV of the Vía de la Plata Nature Trail before July 4 of this year, which have an extension of 23 km from Jarilla to Plasencia, with an investment of 1,823,826 euros, the date on which this route from Béjar to Plasencia would be available to all users.

On the journey from north to south, the railway platform has already been converted into a greenway from Navalmoral de Béjar to Jarilla. From there to the San Lázaro tunnel in Plasencia there are 24 kilometers, currently under construction. However, in the first 18, which go from Jarilla to the bridge over the A-66 motorway, the works are almost finished. The platform is finished, it is perfectly cyclable, and almost all the fences have already been installed (wooden slats on both sides at those points where there are unevenness or other terrain accidents that may involve risks for users).

In addition, it has been agreed to undertake as a second step, the promotion of the extension of this road from Plasencia to Monesterio, passing through Cáceres and Mérida. In addition, it has been agreed to promote the Villuercas Nature Trail, which is 68.3 km long, and its interconnection with the Guadiana Nature Trail from Logrosán to Don Benito-Villanueva, becoming a section of the Eurovelo-14 Iberian route.

There has also been talk of other Nature Trails such as those of the Tagus, Guadiana, Monfragüe and the Cáceres-Badajoz Corridor.

The general director of Tourism has highlighted that “cycling and hiking are products on the rise, increasingly in demand” hence these Nature Trails are one of the priority products for Extremadura.