Discover Mora: Olive Oil, Heritage and Landscape

Mora is shaped by olive groves, and its olive mills produce extra virgin olive oil. This gives you several themes to consider when planning your trip: a circular route through named mountain ranges, museums devoted to olive oil and rural culture, as well as historic buildings and recurring festivals. Which of these you choose to focus on can guide your plans for your stay.

Olive-Growing Landscape and the Peñas Negras Circular Route

The “Peñas Negras” walking route (PR TO-1) is a 19.6-kilometre circular route in Mora. It can be completed on foot or by bicycle. Its course passes through the Sierras de la Rabera, Sierra de San Juan, Sierra del Buey and Sierra del Castillo. The route also offers panoramic views over a valley cultivated entirely with olive groves.

This gives you specific features to consider when planning: the distance, the circular route and the choice of how to travel. The four named mountain ranges provide a clear landscape orientation along the route. From the surrounding hills of Mora, an extensive sea of olive groves in shades of green and silver also stretches to the horizon. If you would like to make the landscape a focus of your stay, you can consider the panorama from the hills and the course of the circular route as distinct aspects.

Olive Oil and Rural Culture in the Museums

The Museo del Aceite Felipe Vegue displays olive oil containers, traditional weights and measures, and rural culture through its traditional occupations. Visits are guided. Appointments must be made in advance for afternoons, weekends and public holidays; check the visiting arrangements before your trip if you plan to visit at one of these times. The museum also offers a virtual 360-degree tour of olive-growing equipment, processes and settings.

The Museo Molino Aceitero is located in the Casa de la Encomienda in Mora. Its exhibits include objects related to olive oil and wine, a collection of weights and measures, and agricultural equipment. The themes range from products and measuring instruments to agricultural work. Anyone interested in Mora’s olive oil culture will find another way here to explore the objects and areas of work associated with olive oil and wine.

Buildings and Art

Castillo de Peñas Negras is shaped like a ship and stands on the Sierra del Castillo. A trench divides it into two parts. The parade ground is flanked by defensive towers to the east; to the west, it is bounded by a natural trench from which a spring flows. This description combines distinctive forms with a clearly defined layout: the ship-like shape, the division and the different boundaries of the parade ground all form part of the fortress’s character.

The Iglesia Santa María de Altagracia preserves several panels by painters Juan Correa de Vivar and Francisco de Comontes. Together with the architecture of Castillo de Peñas Negras, these offer different points of interest for travellers interested in buildings and art: the layout of a fortress on the one hand, and the preserved panels by two named painters on the other.

Festivals to Include in Your Travel Plans

The Fiesta del Olivo takes place on the last weekend of April. The annual festival of the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de La Antigua falls on the first Sunday in September. It is preceded by a novena, during which worshippers walk up the hill. On the festival day, there is a Mass in honour of the Virgin and a large procession from La Antigua up the hill named after her. If you are planning your trip around either of these festivals, check the programme in advance; the annual programme details for the festival of the Ermita may change.

The two festival dates offer different points of reference in the year: the last weekend in April for the Fiesta del Olivo and the first Sunday in September for the festival of the Ermita. When planning, you can decide whether a festival, alongside the landscape, museums or buildings, should be the focus of your stay.

Discover more destinations: Los Alares, Rinconada, Mejorada, Azután, Los Cerralbos, Sartajada, Illescas, Herreruela de Oropesa

For the broader travel overview: Toledo.