Trujillo, Spain Travel Guide

245km (152 miles) SW of Madrid, 45km (28 miles) E of Cáceres

Approaching the hilltop city of Trujillo, on a deserted plain east of Cáceres, you might imagine you’re a medieval traveler. Its Moorish castle and city walls have stood unchanged for the best part of a millennium. The church tower that rises above the skyline was built to celebrate the Christian reconquest of the town in 1232.

This modest settlement went on to produce many of the conquistadors who shaped the New World. Francisco Pizarro, who defeated the Incan empire with just 180 men, was born here in the 1470s. His equestrian statue and his family’s lavish palace dominate Plaza Mayor. Francisco de Orellana, the first European to navigate the Amazon, was another local boy made good. His birthplace is now a high-end hotel.

Other Trujillano history-makers were Francisco de las Casas, who accompanied Hernán Cortés in his conquest of Mexico and founded the city of Trujillo in Honduras; Diego García de Paredes, who founded Trujillo in Venezuela; and Nuño de Chaves, founder of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia. It is said that 20 countries were born in Trujillo. Its name can be found in towns, cities, rivers, even beer bottles across Latin America.

Celts, Romans, Moors, and Christians have inhabited Trujillo over the centuries. The original town, lying above today's modern one, was built on a granite ledge on the hillside. But it's the stupendous wealth the conquistadors brought home that built the palaces and churches that make this small city an architectural delight. On warm summer evenings, Plaza Mayor—with its floodlit monuments, arcaded restaurants, and strolling families—is one of Spain’s most pleasurable sights.