Around Alía, in the Trucha Gorge, we can find one of the the largest and best-preserved populations of this species on the Iberian Peninsula. More than a thousand adult specimens, mingling amongst holly, durillo and strawberry trees in a unique riverside setting. We are talking about the parrot or Prunus lusitanica, which is not just a tree, but a survivor of the Tertiary period, where the paleotropical flora.

Imagine that they are the the last remnants of the laurel forest which covered the area millions of years ago, long before the climate became drier and colder. Whilst others disappeared, this species found a home in the shade of the Villuercas Ibores Jara Geopark its ideal spot to withstand the passing of the millennia.

It’s the perfect stop to realise that nature has a long memory; saying hello to this parrot is, basically, like saying hello to a dinosaur in the form of a plant.