Sierra de la Peña de Francia, Spain

The Sierra de la Peña de Francia is a mountain range that acts as a natural border between Castilla y León and Extremadura. It is part of the jagged central cordillera, passing into the rocky Sierra de Gredos. From the highest peak of the Sierra de la Peña de Francia - Peña de Francia, there are incredible views of Portugal, the Sierra de Gredos and the Castilian lands to the north.
The most interesting place in the lands of Castile and Leon is the charming mountain village with stone houses with wooden beams and cobbled streets - La Alberca. La Alberca has for centuries responsibly preserved local traditions and religious fervour. The village is recognized as a national monument and this in turn attracts a serious flow of permanent tourists in the summer. And La Alberca, like almost every town and village in Spain, has its fiestas, and among the more impressive is the one in honor of the victory of the Virgin Mary over Satan, which the inhabitants celebrate on August 15, dressed in richly embroidered costumes.
Immediately south through the Sierra de la Peña de Francia, through the Portillo Pass, a scenic road leads to the idyllic valley of Las Batuecas, a protected national park. Here, prehistoric cave paintings are hidden among rock formations with amazing shapes. Las Batuescas became famous in 1932, when Luis Buñuel made his film "Land without Bread", in which the extreme suffering and poverty of the area was described in detail. Today, life here is on a much better level, but the characteristic naturalness of the landscape and the appearance of the weathered whitewashed villages and stone farmhouses are intact.