2. Tórtoles to Becedillas

Dehesas and Mediterranean shrubland

Tórtoles is a very small village in the Corneja valley with one of the most fantastic views over the valley and mountains. It is only inhabited by a few old people and some donkeys, but city dwellers double the population during the weekends.

Donkeys

From here you can follow a clear track through pastures and Mediterranean oak tree shrubland that in the early spring is carpeted with wild flowers and is paradise for birds and bees. The Mediterranean oak or "Encina" (Quercus ilex rotundifolia) covers most areas of central and southern Spain, and with its rounded shape is the most iconic tree of the Iberian Peninsula.

The route is approximately 8 Km long but it runs on flat terrain and steadily down towards the end, where the shrubland turns into cereal fields and cleared oak forest known as "dehesa". Dehesa is a sparse wood pasture, made up principally of evergreen Holm oak, grazed by livestock, and without scrub undergrowth. It is unique to Iberia. Also described as: "a traditional Mediterranean silvopastoral system linking production and nature conservation".

Dehesa

Huge forests of Holm oak or Encina, believed to be the climax species of the true Mediterranean forest, once stretched over great swathes of Spain. This virgin forest has long-since disappeared but instead of being felled, huge forests of Holm oak were thinned out, creating the sparse pasture parkland known as Dehesa, which forms a unique man-made, managed and bio-diverse ecosystem. These are grazed on by the classic Iberian pigs, cows and sheep. They bear its acorns in winter, providing a staged supply of animal food.