Exploring the forms of water

Santa María de la Alameda

Hornillo Waterfall

Length: 5 km
Difficulty: medium. Circular. Signposted

The walk is shaded, provided by a well-preserved river ecosystem. The path allows you to descend along the imposing valley of the Aceña River.

For more information, click here.

Valdemaqueda

Cofio River Route

Length: 8 km
Difficulty: medium-low. Circular. Signposted

The area around the Roman Bridge is an ideal spot to spend a different summer day, cooling off in the river waters, in the shade of this beautiful bridge and surrounded by a pine forest.

More information:
www.turismosierraoestemadrid.org

Aldea del Fresno

Alberche Beach

At the confluence of the Alberche and Perales rivers and the Berciana stream lies this fluvial sand beach, in the middle of a wooded area in Aldea del Fresno. With accessible parking, it is an ideal area for family enjoyment, as you can lay out towels and umbrellas and the water is usually shallow. Dogs are also allowed, always on a leash and with a muzzle.

More information:
www.turismosierraoestemadrid.org

San Martín de Valdeiglesias – Pelayos de la Presa

This reservoir has more than 50 kilometers of coastline and 14 beaches and was formed by the retention of water from the Alberche and Cofio rivers. It is the only reservoir in the Community of Madrid where swimming and motorized water activities are permitted. The most visited areas are Cerro de San Esteban, located on the right bank, and La Lancha del Yelmo, on the left. The most famous recreational areas are El Muro (Pelayos de la Presa) and the Virgen de la Nueva area (San Martín de Valdeiglesias). The latter is the only beach in the Community of Madrid recognized as a Blue Flag Beach for Inland Waters for the quality of its waters).

Rascafría

Las Presillas. Natural pools

Recreational area with large green meadows and a bathing area with natural pools formed by small dams on the Lozoya River. They are enabled for bathing and have all services: parking (paid), restrooms, bar.

More information:
https://www.sierranortemadrid.org/las-presillas/

Pinilla del Valle

Canoeing in the Pinilla reservoir.

The Pinilla reservoir is at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama, an idyllic spot with views of the natural park. A reservoir where you will breathe tranquility and where you can enjoy its impressive views while enjoying an activity with canoes and paddle surfing.

More information:
https://www.sierranortemadrid.org/planes/piraguas-familia

San Mamés

La Chorrera de San Mamés

Length: 12 km.
Difficulty: Low. Circular

Medium-level route, the elevation gain of the climb is amply rewarded by the sight of this spectacular waterfall formed by the Chorro stream. A shorter option would be to do it as an out-and-back from San Mamés.

More information:
https://www.sierranortemadrid.org/la-chorrera-de-san-mames/

Somosierra

Canyoning

The Somosierra canyon is the closest canyoning descent to Madrid, with several rappels and a 9-meter slide. A canyon to get you started in this world, lasting about 4 hours.

More information:
https://www.sierranortemadrid.org/pueblo/somosierra/

Buitrago del Lozoya

Riosequillo Natural Pool

Near Buitrago del Lozoya, next to the Riosequillo reservoir, and surrounded by spectacular scenery, lies the Riosequillo natural pool, one of the largest in the Community of Madrid, with a capacity for two thousand people.

More information:
https://www.sierranortemadrid.org/riosequillo/

Cervera de Buitrago

Water activities at the El Atazar reservoir

For 25 years, due to the construction of the El Atazar Reservoir, Cervera de Buitrago decided to focus on Nautical Tourism, taking advantage of the important tourist resource that is the El Atazar Reservoir. The Marina facilities are the only nautical area that allows access to the El Atazar Reservoir, where throughout the year you can enjoy water sports such as sailing, canoeing, windsurfing, or paddle surfing.

More information:
https://www.turismocervera.org/area-nautica/

Patones

Pontón de la Oliva and the Badlands

Length: 2 km. (round trip)
Difficulty: Medium (900 meters elevation gain to reach the badlands)

To give you an idea of the unique beauty of the Badlands, they are like a small Grand Canyon, or like the Médulas of El Bierzo, but on a smaller scale, at least in surface area, but not in beauty. On this route, you will also discover the pharaonic work of the Pontón de la Oliva, with blocks of 72 x 27 meters, which was built in the mid-19th century.

More information:
https://www.sierranortemadrid.org/pueblo/patones/

Torremocha del Jarama

Canoeing on the Jarama River

Engage in a novel and sporty activity like canoeing on the Jarama River, amidst the lush nature of its banks and the colorful crops settled in its floodplain. An experience you will undertake in the incomparable setting of the Sierra Norte of Madrid. The significant biodiversity accompanying the Jarama is certified and protected as Natura 2000 Network.

Estremera

Los Villares Beach

Beach with an ‘excellent’ rating, formed by the Tajo River, which is the only point where Madrileños can bathe in this river. Access to this area is via a dirt path accessible both on foot and by bicycle. Nearby, there are tables set up in a large picnic area.

More information:
https://vegasyalcarriamadrid.com/producto/playa-de-los-villares/

Fuentidueña de Tajo

Canoeing on the Tajo

They are a federated club and are dedicated to organizing canoeing courses and descents on the Tajo River in one or two-seater kayaks.

More information:
Club Piragüismo El Tajo. Plaza Caserna, 4. 918 72 85 31

Villamanrique de Tajo

Walk along the ecological path of the Tajo

Difficulty: low
Distance: 4 km. Circular. Signposted
Duration: 1.5 hours on foot

The path begins in the recreational area of Las Cuevas, a good place for leisure and sports, and descends downstream, reviewing the attractions of the gallery forest formed by the river. The path also crosses fields of corn, asparagus, and cereals. It has information signs, signage, and a bird observatory, where it is easy to see and hear the calls of common coots, moorhens, and mallards.

More information:
https://villamanriquedetajo.madrid/rutas/

Becerril de la Sierra

Majalespino Reservoir

The Majalespino Reservoir, also known as the Maliciosa Reservoir, is an essential stop on the traditional route for hikers towards this mythical elevation of the Sierra de Guadarrama, reproduced infinitely as one of the most significant icons of the mountain landscape of the peaks.

The reservoir is formed by the damming of water from the Peña Jardera stream and provides drinking water to the municipality of Becerril de la Sierra, and the beauty of its surroundings makes it an essential stop for reading the mountain landscape.

From this reservoir, you can clearly and broadly appreciate the diverse landscapes and ecosystems that make up the Sierra de Guadarrama, in the transition from high mountain to plains and livestock pastures, passing through areas of spectacular granite formations, made of high-quality granite that has made the quarries in the surrounding areas famous.

The granite formations are dotted with winding and rocky paths, which were once traversed by many shepherds and more than one bandit, when traveling through these mountains on horseback and by stagecoach was true adventure tourism.

Guadalix de la Sierra

The lives of water. Guadalix-Pedrezuela Reservoir

The Guadalix de la Sierra reservoir, which takes its name from the neighboring town of Pedrezuela, dominates the municipality’s landscape and is part of the Natura 2000 Network. It is recognized by experts and enthusiasts as one of the best places to observe waterfowl in the Community of Madrid.

Among the inhabitants of this paradise for birds, fed by the Guadalix River, we find various species of ducks, teals, coots, herons, cormorants, and many others that delight birdwatchers and laypeople; as well as the innumerable storks, no less beautiful for being more common.

The reservoir is an essential point during the wintering of birds, as well as a desired refueling and resting stop for migratory birds. Its large area of shallow waters favors the vegetation that provides them with protection and food. Several paths allow us to circle it comfortably and safely, including the historic Camino Mendocino that borders it.

For decades, the reservoir has also had a nautical club, whose facilities and activities allow us to approach the world of water with pleasure and safety. Sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, and paddleboarding are the main disciplines that invite us to learn them and enjoy this body of water.

A large mirror from which to contemplate another vision of the Sierra de Guadarrama on its slope from the high passes of Canencia and La Morcuera, before diving in to regain strength in the streets of this town. Here, the surprise of its cinematic history awaits us, thanks to the filming in 1953 of the film «Bienvenido, Míster Marshall» by Luis García Berlanga. An interesting past also ready to be discovered.

Moralzarzal

Water Route

Few things surpass the beauty of seeing and hearing water in motion. If we add history and tradition to that, we have a treasure that, in this case, is kept in the municipality of Moralzarzal, where architecture, stone, and water create a dance with centuries of legacy. As early as the 17th century, the first fountains of Moralzarzal appeared, such as the representative Fuente de los 4 Caños (updated in 1885), which are still landmarks today.

The landscape has memory. Moralzarzal had waters considered magical and healing; such as the Spring of Persevering Faith, which was associated with the healing of tuberculosis patients, with people coming from Madrid to drink its waters. Even its name sounded like water. The origin of the current location of the urban center of Moralzarzal is linked to the Fuente del Moral. This is how the small farmstead or village of Segovian shepherds was known from the 13th century onwards. And this is how the town was called until the first third of the 17th century. In the 15th century, a small annex, Zarzal, was founded, also near a spring.

The granite that is at the heart of the architecture of the Sierra de Guadarrama is the material key to this great hydraulic work, built at the end of the 19th century on the slopes of Matarrubia. The channels contained a cast-iron pipe through which water flowed, still visible in some sections, and channeled and collected water from the springs that flow through the Robledo mountain, originating from the Grande and Peñalagua streams. For almost a century, they also supplied the «public washhouse,» which was built by many of the residents at the time, at the end of the 19th century, and which utilized water from the Fuente de los 4 Caños.

All this hydraulic work draws its essence from the rich Islamic tradition. The most humble systems of cisterns and irrigation channels have been essential in the growth of the mountain municipalities, growing to the large number of reservoirs that exist today, which generously guarantee water for all Madrileños.

Manzanares El Real, Soto del Real

Santillana Reservoir

The main reservoir, by capacity, in the Sierra de Guadarrama is the Manzanares or Santillana Reservoir. It covers an area of 1044 hectares in the municipal districts of Manzanares El Real and Soto del Real. This dam, built in 1912 and expanded in 1971, is characterized by a neo-Gothic tower of the old dam that emerges from the water. In total, the reservoir can hold up to 91.2 cubic hectometers of water from the Manzanares River.

The Manzanares El Real reservoir is of significant ornithological interest, as it serves as a refuge for a multitude of birds. Abundant are the specimens of mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), shoveler (Anas clypeata), gadwall (Anas strepera), and red-crested pochard (Netta rufina).

There is also the presence of other species such as the common teal (Anas crecca), the pintail (Anas acuta), the great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus), or the little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis). Other common waterfowl include the common pochard (Aythya ferina), the tufted duck (Aythya fuligula), the common coot (Fulica atra), the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), and the black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus).

A walk along the reservoir’s shore will allow you to observe all these birds and admire the Manzanares El Real castle, the most imposing and best-preserved in the Community of Madrid. The greatest architectural jewel of Manzanares El Real – declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1931 – is a true marvel of medieval architecture.

Navacerrada

The Barranca Valley

The Barranca Valley is a place of exceptional beauty, a paradise for hiking and active tourism, which boasts the broadest protection figures in the Sierra de Guadarrama: Biosphere Reserve, Regional Park, National Park, and Natura 2000 Network.

It was once part of, like the municipality of Navacerrada in its origin, the great hunting territory known as the Real de Manzanares. Throughout history and up to the present day, it has had very diverse uses, both forestry and livestock; including the unique ice industry, which collected and processed snow, essential for the preservation and transport of food in the big city during the summer seasons.

Water is one of the main protagonists of the Barranca Valley, through which the Samburiel River flows, alongside its landscape of pine trees and some riverside forests, which host great animal biodiversity.

Health has also been a major protagonist in the valley’s history, since the anti-tuberculosis hospital was inaugurated at the beginning of the 20th century, once the great virtues of its air for the treatment of respiratory diseases were known.