Encinasola: Fortresses, Festivals and Trails

Culture and History

The Puente de Los Cabriles is a 15th-century bridge that once connected Encinasola with the border area of Las Contiendas.

Immediately east of the town centre stands the Fuerte de San Felipe, a circular artillery tower. The tower was built between 1645 and 1650 and has an external diameter of 14 metres.

The Fuerte de San Juan is a fortification that protected Encinasola from Portuguese incursions. Today, it houses a permanent exhibition about La Contienda, its distinctive structures and the tools used there.

The first defensive bulwark also included the Castillo de Encinasola, together with the castles of Aroche and Fregenal de la Sierra in Badajoz.

Trails and Landscape

The Sendero del Puente de Los Cabriles begins on the southern edge of Encinasola via Calle del Conde. For its first few metres, the trail runs roughly parallel to the HU-9103 road towards Cumbres de San Bartolomé.

Around Encinasola, there are numerous and varied routes for horse riding, cycling, mountain biking and hiking. They pass through the landscape of the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Nature Park.

The Ruta del Contrabandista is an approximately 16-kilometre route that connects the Portuguese village of Barrancos with Encinasola during the Festividad de San Andrés.

In the area around the Puente de Los Cabriles, a riverside forest grows along the watercourse. Its trees include ash trees, poplars, black poplars, willows and white eucalyptus.

This riverside forest provides shade and shelter for numerous birds, reptiles and small mammals. In the valley of the Río Múrtigas, an old flour-mill dam creates the river’s largest accumulation of water in a landscape of exceptional ecological value.

Festivals and Flavours

The Festividad de San Andrés combines cultural, sporting, religious and gastronomic events throughout an entire weekend with a craft fair in the marquee on Encinasola’s Plaza Mayor.

Since 2005, Encinasola’s bars and restaurants have taken part in the Feria de la Tapa during the Festividad de San Andrés.

On returning from the Ruta del Contrabandista, hikers and local residents can sample the traditional Migas de San Andrés on the Plaza Mayor.

The Romería de la Virgen de Flores begins on the Friday after Easter Sunday and lasts until the following Monday, Lunes de Albillo.

At the end of the romería, the statue is taken at around 10 a.m., accompanied by tambourines, floats, carts and horses, to its pilgrimage chapel, nine kilometres from the town. A stop is made at the Piedra de los Valientes along the way.

More destinations

More destinations: Rosal de la Frontera, Corterrangel, Aljaraque, El Almendro, Punta Umbría, Minas De Riotinto, Zalamea La Real, Cumbres De San Bartolomé

To the higher-level travel overview: Huelva.