yorkshire

Indeed this is a gorgeous area. We visited Caceres last May and enjoyed several hikes where we saw almost no others. The part close to the Portuguese border is especially pretty--Tajo nature park. And in the other direction, Monfrague was stunning.

ekscrunchy

Mike, and Yorkshire..Excellent and tempting tips here. I did spend a few days in Caceres and Jarandilla, at the paradores).

And Ayamonte and Huelva are of much interest to me. But please let me know if these regions would be pleasant in early March, before my visit to Vejer?
Where t fly into and rent a car, and after seeing some of these towns, proceed to Vejer? (Leaving out Caceres on this post unless it is very close..must take a look at map.)

Will there be any visitors and will restaurants be open in first half of March, Mikel? Aracena of interest? Would love to see the landscape near the RioTinto mines.....(??)

mikelg

Take into account that Ayamonte is a "normal" town, where locals live, so yes, there will be life. There are many towns in the area "off the beaten path" where locals have their lives and tourism is limited to summer months. Aracena will be open for visitors, no worries here.

Faedus

Now that this fine trip report has deservedly been brought forward from its 20-year retirement, I'll add a brief note for chess players, and point out that as a young man, Ruy Lopez (a name my target audience will recognize immediately) spent several years of his youth in Zafra, one of the Extremadura towns mentioned therein. (He may even have been born there, though sources differ on this.) As of my visit in 2014, his residence in the center of Zafra was identified by a plaque, but it was not open to the public. (If you're interested, check to see whether that has changed in the past nine years.)