Jaraíz de la Vera

Jaraíz de la Vera is a town in the north-east of the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, the main town of the La Vera district, set between the slopes of the Sierra de Gredos and the Tiétar valley. It gained the status of a town in 1685, on separating from Plasencia, and lies a short distance from the monastery of Yuste, where Emperor Charles V retired. With around 6,700 inhabitants, it is known as the ‘world capital of pimentón’: it hosts the Regulatory Council of the Pimentón de la Vera Designation of Origin and a museum devoted to this smoked paprika. Its landscape of mountain gorges invites bathing and hiking, with the natural pool of El Lago on the Pedro Chate gorge. Jaraíz de la Vera was recognised by ACES Europe as European Town of Sport 2026, a title reserved for municipalities of fewer than 25,000 inhabitants, which places it within the broad Spanish representation of the ACES network.