A well-known conquistador brings valuable books to Guadalupe
The Royal Monastery of Guadalupe offers an insight to the vast ancient heritage of the region. It possesses accredited historical sources that provide estimated data from more than 200 Incunabula “books printed before the 16th century”. Currently three have been recovered among other relevant historical documents such as the case of the Baptismal footsteps of the first American Indignenas. These were brought to Guadalupe for the first time by Christopher Columbus. The village is also recognized for its other cultural sites such as Villuercas Ibores Geopark Jara or The Pilgrimage Paths to Guadeloupe, The Well of the Snow of Guadalupe, Los Molinos, Aceñas, Martinetes, Batanes del Guadalupejo, Mills of the Herrería, Castañar Mill, Batán de Arriba and Butcher Mill.
Guadeloupe is far from large towns and access is only through mountainous roads. Tourist activities play an important role in diversifying the economic sector which is primarily agrarian. The protection of ethnography and its balance with nature and the promotion of the conservation of natural and cultural resources are key elements towards achieving sustainable rural tourism development.
HIGHLIGHTS
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The village of lights
In 2017, Guadalupe received the title of the “Most Beautiful Christmas Town in Spain” from Ferrero Rocher. The village invoked the support of the entire community to work together in an effort towards winning the contest. Regional houses were decorated beautifully by the villagers. As a result, the village succeeded in winning the contest on two occasions and, in celebration, New Year’s Eve chimes were telecast through a national television network.
Initially, the influx of tourists in this period was non-existent. However, with the help of this initiative, the village has now become renowned as a prominent winter destination. This tourist attraction continues to attract hundreds of visitors every week who wish to view the magnificent lighting display during public events.
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Tourism sustainability plan
A Tourism Sustainability Plan has currently been developed by the village’s Diputación de Cáceres. If implemented, it will lead to active conservation and promotion of natural and cultural heritage through education.
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Festivals galore
Geodisea is celebrated every year to focus on disseminating and raising awareness through activities relating to geology, adventure, cultural heritage and local gastronomy. Guadalupe also promotes and organizes local festivals, an example of how it aims to preserve its local traditions for future generations. These include the Feast of San Blas, Feast of the Cross, Corpus Christi procession, Holy Week and the annual festival in honour of Santa María de Guadalupe.
