Walk
- Pets allowed
- Suitable for children
- Activity
Listen to your footsteps in our paths and routes
Livestock trails, paths, lanes, footpaths... different spaces, different sizes, longer and shorter, harder, easier... You only have to choose where and how far you want to go
Walk
- Centro de Visitantes La Pedriza:
Camino de La Pedriza s/n
28410 Manzanares El Real. Madrid - 91 853 99 78
- Official regulations
Manzanares El Real is one of the largest municipalities in the Community of Madrid, and more than half of the territory is nature in its purest state. No wonder why we have needed to walk so much.
It is no coincidence that the Cañada Real Segoviana crosses this area and dozens of paths diverge from it; they will take you wherever you want to go, they will push you to do your best or, will simply make for a pleasant stroll.
Let’s follow the path, always forward, but remember to be respectful with the terrain you are walking on, don’t litter and, please, don’t leave the paths: you could step on small animals and flora that we cannot afford to lose.
Some of our favourite routes
Here you have the main routes you can do to stretch your legs, but remember that there are many more in the Regional Park and the National Park
This very popular way to go to Cantocochino without a car begins at the natural entrance to the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, by the barrier.
You will find a pleasant walk of little difficulty, except for some steeper slopes, where you will walk through different ecosystems. The meadows open up unexpectedly and the forests of cluster pines, black pines and cypresses will give you shade, along with a multitude of lavender, rosemary, thyme and gum rockrose that will accompany you with their mixture of aromas, without forgetting the spectacle of the curious rock formations that will surprise you as you go up without even noticing it.
Along the way you can take a break in the rest areas, but be careful not to catch cold: this trail has strong temperature changes due to the mixture of its different spaces and orientation.
Our great protagonist and most famous rock formation in La Pedriza is El Yelmo (The Helmet), a colossus that watches over Manzanares El Real from above and a favourite spot for climbers. Although this granite dome is the most striking, it does not discredit the countless whimsical rocky figures that decorate this incomparable area.
The vegetation is bushy and the fauna is rocky thanks to the constant rock outcrops, so don’t forget your camera and binoculars to see, among others, our mountain goats that will accompany you part of the way.
If you want to walk this trail and enjoy this panorama, we warn you that it is difficult due to its steep slope all the way up, so prepare your lungs and legs for the uphill hike.
La Pedriza has two sides, the front and the back, and each of them shows different landscapes defined by the Majadilla Stream and the Dehesilla Stream.
This path will take you to the Collado de la Dehesilla from Cantocochino and is impossible to miss, as there are many landmarks and special places that will guide you and that you can enjoy: the forest houses from the beginning of the 20th century, the Cancho de los Muertos, the Giner de los Ríos Refuge or El Tolmo are just some of them. You will also walk through pine forests, rocky areas and scrubland, and water will accompany you throughout the route.
Enjoy this route of medium difficulty, but varied and surprising.
Of the Manzanares River, the Charca Verde may be the most famous and most visited pool in the summer season, although you must remember that bathing is forbidden in the whole river.
The walk from Cantocochino to here is easy and quiet and goes all along the riverbank, which will allow you to discover many species of amphibians such as the common toad and the long-legged frog, insects such as dragonflies and damselflies, and fish such as the common trout and the rainbow trout. Our beloved otter, which disappeared decades ago due to excessive human presence, has returned to populate the river thanks to the bathing ban, so with a bit of luck, you will also be able to see it.
If you want a cool and pleasant walk, this is your trail.
To walk this route it is preferable to start from the village. This way you will have the opportunity to admire the Historical Heritage of Manzanares El Real, Old Bridge, the Old Castle, the Molino de la Tuerta or the Molino de los Frailes (or Molino del Cura), before entering the Natural Heritage.
When you reach the Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Peña Sacra, you will begin the second part, where nature starts to gain ground through the Camorza Gorge. Following the left bank of the Manzanares River you will need to be careful, because the granite banks and cliffs are very slippery, but they are also a spectacle in the sunlight that will allow you to see the right bank of the river, where forests of pine and cypress trees of reforestation stand.
Reptiles, riverside vegetation and curious rock formations will surprise you along the way, and griffon vultures will watch over you from the air.
This medium-difficulty trail is ideal for a circular route, as it offers two different natural landscapes, one on the way out and a different one on the way back, so you won’t get bored.
Leaving from Cantocochino, the pine and cypress forests will take you to very famous places of the back side of La Pedriza, such as El Cáliz and the Cancho de los Muertos, a compulsory stop to admire its imposing presence. You will pass near Collado Cabrón to return along the banks of the Majadilla Stream, near the Giner de los Ríos Refuge and the Kindelán Pond, but don’t forget to look up at any time: the griffon vultures are sure to be flying in the open sky and the mountain goats leaping over the cliffs.
Like many of the rock formations in La Pedriza, the Cancho de los Muertos (The Cliff of the Dead) has its own legend that gives it its name, and don’t forget that every legend has a bit of truth.
