A barely 3 km long / less than 1 hour hike through a magnificent wilderness path uphill, will lead you to one of the most beautiful natural pools you can swim in while in Extremadura, Spain: Los Pilones del Jerte (Jerte River pools) or La Garganta del Infierno ( Hell’s Throat ).
Thirteen eroded stone pools located one after the other one. Not that much crowded because of the spot’s relative inaccessibility and talented locals jumping like there wasn’t a tomorrow. Canyoning through them all after a first jump in the upper one is a must-do filled with exciting white-water waterfalls, deep and shallow holes and calm waters. Walk the 6 km return if you are somewhere between semi-fit and fit or ask for a lift to the guys standing in the beginning of the trail if you are running out of time or don’t want to sweat to get there.
A variety of greens surprised us. This one was taken from a bridge at the bottom of the natural pools.
People use to lay down in the warm stones and indulging themselves in the pools whenever they feel.
Dare to jump? Best way to start!
Los Pilones del Jerte or Hell’s Throat in Extremadura, Spain
FUN it is! Sliding from one pool to the next one took us aproximately half an hour. We gotta say we did it slow, enjoying ourselves and taking tons of pics and vids!
More water and Stone goodness
Local number 2. Very talented, we would love to have that ability of jumping into the void without fears or second thoughts !
Local number one. He left us without speech after going from the first hole to the last one in less than 3 minutes after jumps like this one. Master level 😉
We’ll come back here for sure!
Before heading North back home, a last and scenic picture of Jerte Valley
Have you ever visited Jerte Valley or Los Pilones del Jerte? Is hiking in Spain on your list? Do you have any more Extremadura tips? Let us know.
wow that looks quite nice! i’ll have to go there one day! the pools remind me of semuc champey in guatemala. there are natural pools there too and we slid, jumped, and swim from pool to pool.
Never been there but it’s on our list! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and commenting Steve!
wow, what an amazing story? The picture look unreal, I wish I could live there that water is so inviting!Hope you had a good trip, thanks for sharing the trip!
Thanks Jenna for stopping by and commenting! Whenever in Extremadura, you should def head there 🙂 It’s amazing
Long time ago, I wanted to have gone to the Jerte. This post has reminded me …
You can now! The trail is gorgeous and you can always swim in the natural pools once you get there 🙂 For not so hot days, we’d recommend Spring and Fall as the perfect time to go. Let us know how it goes if you finally make it there!!