Chestnuts harvest: from the tree and the Magosto

All the villages in the Sierras de Francia and Béjar are good places to collect this fruit which also gives its name to some of the villages in Salamanca, such as Miranda del Castañar and San Martín del Castañar.

In La Alberca, on the day before All Saints Day, neighbours and tourists get together to grill calbotes (castañas) on the fire or in the calboteros.

There are also other villages around the Sierra de Béjar and Candelario which are famous for this fruit which is part of many dishes during the autumn In Candelario the grilled chestnuts ofr the famous calbotes are very famous art he beginining of November, when they are given to lots of people from the village and visitors.

One of the most famous traditions in most of the villages in the Sierra os Salamanca is going to the countryside to make the magosto, or going to the countryside to boil or roast chestnuts. This popular festival is still being celebrated in many villages of the province of Salamanca.

This connection with this fruit is also obvious in the Interpretaion Centre of the Chestnut tree located in Montemayor del Río: Interpretation Centre of the Chestnut Tree), a village which still keeps one of the most original home-made basketmaking of the province.

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