From the Mirador de Orellana I had my first look at this weird site. It takes a hike of about 800m uphill, through a wonderful green setting with lots of chestnut trees, flowers and berries. This viewpoint has the classic views, with the red peaks that you usually see in photos of Las Médulas. The mining area looks smaller than I had expected. Later I read somewhere that it is 10 square km. It looks a lot like a landscape made by erosion (like Ischigualasto/Talampaya in Argentina, or several US National Parks).

A drive down of about 10 minutes brought me to the village of Las Médulas. You have to leave your car at the village entrance, only locals are allowed to drive on. To limit damage to the site due to overexposure, only 4-wheel drives are allowed. One of the other reviewers stated that he/she got in with a regular car, maybe that was out of season as today I saw no other way in than to walk (or join a tour).

Las Médulas is a rustic village that mostly caters to the quite large number of tourists that pass through, most of them Spanish. Signposts point to several short and longer walks in the area. I opted for a short one: the 3km round-trip to the lake Lago Somido. The quite barren landscape leaves you well exposed to the sun, not to be underestimated at 30 degrees C. However, my walk was short enough. The lake also is a result of the mining (the flooding of a canal). Supposedly several species of frogs and salamanders live here, although I didn't see or hear a thing. Also, no other tourists were on this trail, making it almost a bit eerie to walk around here all by myself.

As Las Medulas is located quite far from anywhere, I'd recommend staying overnight. Several of the villages in the area have hotels and guesthouses. This way you'll make it early into the terrain and escape the worst of the heat. The site is large enough to keep you busy for a full day: besides hiking the full circuit (11km), there are guided walks, viewpoints, archaeological remains, visitor centers and plenty of cafés and souvenir shops.