Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Candeleda

What to see and do in Candeleda (Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

Towns near Candeleda

Spain › Castile and León › Ávila › Arenas de San Pedro › Candeleda

What to see and do in Candeleda

Candeleda
Village
Candeleda is a municipality in the province of Ávila, in Castile and León, situated on the southern slope of the sierra de Gredos, at 432 metres above sea level; it is the southernmost municipality in the community, on the border with Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha. Its microclimate, with mild winters and hot summers, allows the cultivation of the ground red pepper that gives its cuisine its fame. Of medieval origin, it received the title of town from Henry III in 1393, and it is linked economically and culturally to the Tiétar valley and to the Extremaduran comarca of La Vera. Within its territory, in the hamlet of El Raso, lies the Vettone hillfort of the same name, with 1800 metres of walls. With about 5000 inhabitants, its main festival, in honour of the Virgen de Chilla, is held on the second Sunday of September.
Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Chilla
Monument
The sanctuary of the patron saint hides seven kilometres from the village, up the hill, among oak and chestnut woods. Tradition places there the apparition of the Virgin to a shepherd named Finardo, and the pilgrimage festival climbs up to it every September.
The paintings of Risco de la Zorrera
Curiosity
A rock shelter in the district preserves schematic rock paintings included since 1985 in the list of protected rock art of the province; they are in the same municipality as the Vettonian castro of El Raso, thirteen kilometres north of the village.
The pilgrimage of the Virgen de Chilla
Activity
On the second Sunday of September, the people of Candeleda climb seven kilometres to the sanctuary of the Virgin of Chilla, the village's patron saint, located halfway between the town and El Raso de Candeleda. Legend has it that the Virgin appeared to the shepherd Finardo while he was tending his flock, and that when the news spread through the village it was decided to build the hermitage on the site of the apparition. At midday the image is carried in procession to an esplanade shaded by chestnut trees. Both the pilgrimage and the hermitage have been declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional (Spain's official national tourist-interest designation) since 1980.
The ceding of the mountains to the Coto Real de Gredos
Historical milestone
The municipality ceded in 1905 common lands to the king to constitute the Royal Hunting Preserve of Gredos, the instrument with which the Iberian ibex was protected in the range and a distant forerunner of the present regional park.
The paprika of Candeleda
Food and drink
Candeleda pimentón has been produced since the 17th century in this municipality of Ávila, in the Tiétar valley, southwest of the Sierra de Gredos. It is obtained by grinding ripe red peppers of the local varieties bellotero or vergel, lerén, agriduz and tres esquinas, dried over smoke from oak and holm oak fires lit on the clay floors of the sequeros, centuries-old stone structures. Before grinding, the fruit undergoes espezonado, which removes the stalks, and no vegetable oils are added to enhance the colour, unnecessary given this spice's high colouring power, which in some brands reaches 208 units on the ASTA scale. It gives colour and aroma to the chorizos of the local pig slaughter and is the ingredient that defines the valley's patatas revolconas.