The ARRIBES DEL DUERO are a beautiful natural formation created by the Duero river as it cuts through granite rock as it marks the border between Portugal and Spain, creating an impressive 50 km-long canyon.

This Spanish-Portuguese region, which includes the Zamora and Salamanca provinces, is characterized by its granite rock formations, which together with its extreme climatic conditions (temperatures and rainfall), have resulted in poor, shallow soils, well suited to extensive livestock farming and vineyards. These characteristics have led to a low farming potential in the area, resulting in isolation, poverty and archaic livelihoods of its human population. The absence of structural renewal and modernization have meant that the area has maintained a unique culture.

The lack of specialization in any one type of farming, due to the area´s characteristics, has meant greater diversification in land use: livestock, arable, forestry, and a sectioned terrain.

These factors, together with the spectacular topography (granite rock outcrops of up to 800m and 300m form high canyons along the Duero river) have created a very high environmental quality and maintained a rich biodiversity, all of which have led to the creation of the ARRIBES DEL DUERO NATURAL PARK.

The area has a rich and diverse vegetation and landscape, including Holm and Cork oak and Juniper forests, Olive groves and Cistus scrub, inhabited by rare and endangered species such as the Black Stork, the Vulture and the Bonelli´s Eagle.

The area´s lack of fertile land means low yields but high quality of the extensive farm products. The goat´s milk and grapes, produced in such an ideal natural environment, are an excellent prime material for the production of our farmhouse LA SETERA GOAT´S CHEESE and WINES.