Cercedilla

Five of us met up at the Chamartin train station and caught a cercanías train to Cercedilla, a small town in the very northwestern part of the Comunidad de Madrid, close to the border with Castile y León. It is about 56 km away from the city proper and is situated in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range. The price was around 9 € for both tickets, ida y vuelta. 

The ride was about 70 minutes long, and we moved out of the city and into the campo. Deer darted amongst wide spreading orchards along side us, and soon the terrain became craggier, and evergreens began to predominate. We arrived at the station and after taking one or two wrong turns, found the road that leads to El Parque Regional de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares, an enormous park that stretches across a large swath of the northern part of the Comunidad de Madrid. 

We left Cercedilla and walked along the road, directed by yellow arrows spray painted on walls, trees, and telephone poles.  It was mid-October but still very warm, somewhere in the 60s, and a few of the trees were starting to turn an almost dandelion yellow.  The scenery helps assuage the fact that it’s about a 2.5 km walk to get to the beginning of the trails.

There are a variety of different trails, of varying levels of intensity and length.  We did Los miradores which I think was supposed to be a 4 or 5 km trail.  We moved up in altitude fairly quickly, and the beginning of the hike was the most strenuous (still not bad though) of the entire hike, as we cut back and forth on switchbacks before reaching a road sized path.  From there we headed towards one of the miradores, a vista point (mirar means to look or watch).  We could see very far out into the valley, and we had a little break for lunch on one of the huge rocks that littered the area.

 

We also had a great view of the Sierra Guadarrama, and the range stretched out in either direction.  We continued on a trail, although there was some confusion about whether it was the right one or not, and it led us right along the mountainside.  The terrain was reminiscent of Yosemite, defiant but beautiful. 

We asked two Spaniards eventually where we were and how to get back, and the directed us towards a “gate” and an old roman road that would take us right back to the entrance of the park.  Along the way, they told us, there would be a look out point where one could see Segovia, located at least 10-15km away in Castile y León.   

We didn’t see Segovia, but we did find a leg of the Camino de Santiago, headed northwest through Castile y León and into Galicia towards the Catedral in Santiago de Compostela.  Where we were was 599 km away from the end of the Camino, so instead of trying to make a couple month trip out of it, we caught an old Roman road down into the Valle de Fuenfría.  La calzada romana was created during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian somewhere around 70 CE. 

In the valley, hard woods, cedars, and evergreens were in an even proportion.  Ferns and moss covered the floor, and the ría Fuenfría ran right down the middle, clear as glass.  We weaved left and right, tilted slightly down hill and were at the park exit in about 30 or 40 minutes.  The verdure of the valley was a great compliment to the rockiness of the mountains. 

Overall, we were there for about 5 or 6 hours, and hiked 10 km or maybe more, including the walk to and from the train station.  The scenery was amazing, and the fresh mountain air was a welcome respite from the city.  Retiro is wonderful, but nothing beats the mountains.  I’m planning to go back soon with a group of friends, and there are also outdoor natural pools that would make for an excellent time once it gets warmer.  So whether you want to go all the way to the peaks, just walk around, or even chill in a pool, Cercedilla has something for you.