Cumbres Mayores: Castle, Cromlech and Historical Festivals

Culture and History

The cromlech in the courtyard of Sancho IV Castle is described as the only documented example to date of a megalithic monument of the cromlech type located inside a medieval fortress. The cromlech site has wooden walkways and paths forming a visitor route around the megalithic monument. During the restoration, 10 of the 40 documented menhirs were returned to their original positions in the first circle of the cromlech.

The construction of the Castillo-Fortaleza de Sancho IV “El Bravo” in Toro is dated to November 4, 1293, and took place by virtue of a privilege granted by King Sancho IV. The fortress was the first National Monument in the province of Huelva to be declared by Alfonso XIII on August 2, 1895. A complete circuit along the Paseo de Ronda is approximately one kilometre long.

The Iglesia Parroquial San Miguel Arcángel is classified as a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC) and was entered in the General Catalogue of Andalusian Historical Heritage on October 13, 2010. It preserves the most complete American heritage currently held by the Diocese of Huelva. The oldest part of the Ermita Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza dates from the beginning of the 14th century.

Only the portal of the Portada del Convento de Santa Clara remains; it displays the late Gothic style of the 15th century and belonged to one of the most significant monastic buildings in Cumbres Mayores. The Puente Romano connected Nertóbriga with Turóbriga and helped overcome the watercourse of the Río Sillo. The Plaza de Toros is considered one of the few atypical bullrings in Andalusia.

Other places include Veredas, Alájar, Ayamonte, Jabuguillo, Hinojales, Santa Olalla del Cala, Santa Bárbara De Casa and Chucena.

Trails and Landscape

Two stages of the GR-48 “Sendero Sierra Morena” run through the municipality of Cumbres Mayores, namely stages 3 and 4. One stage of the GR-48 “Sendero Sierra Morena” connects Cumbres Mayores with the small mountain village of Hinojales. Most of the GR-48 stage is suitable for hiking, cycling and horse riding; individual sections narrow into paths and rocky terrain.

The hiking trail from Cumbres de Enmedio to Cumbres Mayores begins north of Cumbres Mayores next to a viewpoint; the sign marking the start of the trail stands there. On the way to Cumbres Mayores, views open up over the valleys of the Múrtigas and Sillo rivers. The Camino de las Tres Cumbres connects Cumbres de San Bartolomé, Cumbres de Enmedio and Cumbres Mayores in the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park.

Festivals and Traditions

The Danzas de Cumbres Mayores are entered in the General Catalogue of Andalusian Historical Heritage as an activity of ethnological interest in the category “Ritual Dances of Huelva”. The dances were performed inside the parish church and in the streets, including during Corpus Christi processions, religious ceremonies and the celebration of the Virgen del Amparo on September 8.

Corpus Christi includes the release of young bulls along Calle Mayor, La Portá, to the square next to Castillo de Sancho IV. Día de los Jarros takes place every year on August 14; to commemorate a former pilgrimage to the Ermita de la Virgen de Gracia, residents throw water at one another. The chapel stood between the mountains of the Sierra Morena.

Cuisine and Local Products

Cumbres Mayores is known for its sausage and meat industry based on Iberian pork. Companies from the Iberian pork, bakery, wine and olive oil sectors take part in the Feria Gastronómica “Saborea Cumbres Mayores”.

The Feria Gastronómica y Cultural “Saborea Cumbres Mayores” included a traditional demonstration of butchering an Iberian pig, as well as talks about the dehesa, pig farming and the curing of Iberian ham. The traditional snack for the festivities of the Ermita Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza is the “Bollo Repiquiñeao”: an aniseed bread in the shape of a lizard, topped with a hard-boiled egg decorated in colourful designs.

To the main travel overview: Huelva.