Road trip guide: Conquering La Villuerca
La Villuerca is a high mountain peak at an elevation of 1.603m (5,259ft) above the sea level, located in Las Villuercas comarca, Cáceres Province, in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura in Spain.
Nestled in the Sierra de Villuercas range, also known as Sierra de Guadalupe, the narrow road to the summit is asphalted but includes three kilometres of unforgiving concrete. The road features numerous huge bumps that your car may be seriously damaged.
The summit is also known as Risco de la Villuerca and Pico la Villuerca. It is crowned with abandoned military installations of the former Base Centro Táctico, CT2, Guadalupe-Villuercas with tall antennas and a heliport. The army base, which operated from 80s to 90s, is completely decommissioned. The peak is often covered with snow in the winter.
The road to the summit is brutally steep. Starting from the paved CC-97 road, the ascent is 5.4 km (3.35 miles) long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 580 meters. The average gradient is 10.74%. The final 600 metres averages 9,6% and includes the steepest ramps of the entire climb, reaching up to 15%.
Pic: Juan Antonio Fernández Gil