About 25km west of Hervás, the ghost village of Granadilla is a beguiling reminder of how Extremadura's villages must have looked before modernisation. Founded by the Moors in the 9th century but abandoned in the 1960s when the nearby dam was built, Granadilla's traditional architecture has been painstakingly restored since the 1980s as part of a government educational project. Enter through the narrow Puerta de Villa, overlooked by the sturdy 15th-century castle, which you can climb for brilliant panoramas.
From the Puerta de Villa, the cobblestone Calle Mayor climbs up to the delightfully rustic Plaza Mayor, surrounded by vibrant buildings. On the right stands the beautiful Casa de las Conchas, its peach-coloured exterior studded with white ceramic shells. Some buildings function as craft workshops or exhibition centres in summer. Don't miss a stroll along the top of the 1km-long Almohad walls, with evocative views of village, lake, eucalyptuses and pinewoods.