Route of the Guadalix River Basin

San Agustín de Guadalix [+]

At just over 35 kilometres from the capital, San Agustín de Guadalix greets visitors from the hill the old town is built on, where the old church tower looks out over the whole vicinity. San Agustín de Guadalix is an expanding town, where new construction is being added to the old mountain-style architecture still preserved in the area.

The town hall, in the main square, still keeps its original façade. Close by is the 16th-century San Agustín church, with a Renaissance façade, in a commanding position on the top of the hill where the village is.

San Agustín offers you two interesting opportunities; a walk through the maze of its streets and sampling the delights of its cuisine; or else a visit to the rich, natural surroundings, framed by the river the town is named after, and which circles it.

A recreation area has recently been made on the Guadalix River where you can enjoy a day in the country with family and friends, and is one of the outdoor attractions of the village. Several walks start from here, following the river towards the two aqueducts, La Sima and La Retuerta, which formed part of the early Isabel II Canal.

Another attraction of the area is the Dehesa de Moncalvillo, meadowland that the people of San Agustín and Pedrezuela bought from the Mendoza family to increase the pasture for their livestock.

El Molar[+]

The next stop, El Molar, is just over 9 kilometres away, going north on the N-I road. You are warmly recommended to stop here to sample the wonderful village cuisine. A feature of El Molar are the more than two hundred caves, of mediaeval, or even Moorish, origin, located on the lower slopes of nearby hills, where you can enjoy a good wine and delicious grilled meat. Try the Cocido Molareño (Lamb stew), la Butaqueña (a pork sausage made specially for bean soups), Morcilla (Black pudding) or Borrego (Lamb) with salt and garlic. A delight for lovers of good food, already tried by Hollywood stars of the past, like Charlton Heston, David Niven and Ava Gardner.

Having restored your energy, El Molar still has several surprises for visitors. The parish church of Asunción is in the Main Square, dating from the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries. The design hovers between Renaissance and Gothic, with a fine portal at the top of some steps. El Molar has two shrines nearby, the Virgin del Remolino and San Isidro, both very similar and in the neo-Mudejar style. In the village, you can also visit the Jardín de los Pájaros, with over 120 species of birds from all over the world.

Pedrezuela [+]

The next stop on the route is Pedrezuela, a place well known by people from Madrid for its exquisite roast kid, which can be tried at any number of rotisseries. The roots of Pedrezuela lie in the repopulation by shepherds which took place in the hills in the north of the region during the reign of Alfonso VI.

These days, Pedrezuela is a constantly expanding town, whose new construction is taking the place of the old stone houses that are typical of the mountain architecture. Be sure to visit the Main Square, where you can see the town hall and several houses with balconies. Next to it, the parish church of San Miguel, in the Gothic style, dates from the 16th century. The surroundings still preserve several casitos, circular stone constructions with straw and adobe roofs, which some experts attribute to Celtic origins, since they are so similar to the Celtiberian forts.

Apart from the artistic and culinary wealth, a few kilometres away you can find places of singular beauty. Such as the Pedrezuela reservoir, with over 42 kilometres of shoreline, or the course of the Guadalix River. Several sporting activities such as hiking, canoeing, climbing or cycle tours can be carried out round about.

Redueña

Continue slightly further north, leaving the village of Venturada behind on the left (you will return later) and go to the next stop. Redueña is situated between two ravines, el Chorrillo and el Moral, with the small Las Huertas River running through. It has the church of San Pedro Advincula, built of limestone between the 14th and 15th centuries. It contains a Romanesque sculpture of the Virgin and Child.

An interesting fact is that the stone to build the famous La Cibeles fountain was extracted from nearby quarries, as with another important monument, the Apollo, in the Paseo del Prado in Madrid.

Venturada[+]

The municipality of Venturada has three urban districts, los Rosales, Cotos and Venturada. In Cotos the top part still has the remains of a Moorish watchtower which communicated with the nearby one of El Berrueco.

In Venturada, you can visit Santiago Apóstol Church, one of the oldest in Madrid. Although it has been altered several times, the church dates from the 12th century and still conserves its splendid, original portal.

There are any number of cattle tracks crossing the area, some of which you can hike along to the nearby la Paja Hill, or some of the archaeological sites in Venturada, such as Moorish ceramics or the mediaeval anthropomorphic tombs.

Guadalix de la Sierra

The route now passes through Guadalix de la Sierra. The itinerary takes you along the shore of the Pedrezuela reservoir. If you have not already been there, this is a good time to rest and walk along the banks.

Guadalix de la Sierra is Villar del Río in the famous film, Bienvenido Mr. Marshall, one of Luis García Berlanga's finest works. The Guadalix of today is very different from the one used as a film set for Spanish cinema, as in the last few years, due to the water sports that can be done on the nearby Pedrezuela reservoir, the population has increased, especially in the summer months. If you like canoeing, sailing, paragliding or hang-gliding, you will find that Guadalix is a great place for leisure sports.

Apart from sport, Guadalix thoroughly deserves a walk through the old town. The town hall is in Constitution Square, which, although new, is beautifully built. The parish church of San Juan Bautista is nearby. The belfry is usually a nesting place for a pair of storks.

Navalafuente

The next stop, Navalafuente, is just over 6 kilometres from Guadalix, a little more to the north. According to the chroniclers, Navalafuente originated when six inhabitants from nearby Bustarviejo settled on the land, claiming that they were the best for crop growing. It was a long time before it became independent of local municipalities, and at present has no more than 1,000 inhabitants.

The architecture of this small village is typical of the mountains, the most important example being San Bartolomé church, with a tall belfry with two bells, where storks nest almost every year. If you walk through the village, you will find an ancient stand, which was used to shoe livestock.

If you fancy spending a day doing a bit of hiking, there are three routes starting from Navalafuente: the Miraflores path, the path along the Gargüera stream and the royal Bustarviejo route. You will find more detailed information at the town hall.

Cabanillas de la Sierra

The route turns eastwards along the M-301 on the road to Cabanillas de la Sierra, a small town nestling in the Sierra de la Cabrera Mountains. You have to climb up to the highest part of the village to San Juan Bautista church, from where there is one of the best views of Sacedón stream, with the Sierra La Cabrera Mountains in the background.

As you walk through the old town, you will see a mixture of shepherds' country-style houses and residences from the 18th and 19th centuries, rather less rural in appearance. San Juan Bautista church dates from the 17th century, and in spite of having undergone several alterations, it maintains its tall belfry. The old cemetery adjoins the church.

Visitors can go on a variety of nature routes round the Sierra de La Cabrera Mountains. If you visit in the winter months, with luck you will see, after a snowfall, Cabanillas transformed into a beautiful Christmas card in the traditional style of the mountains of Madrid.

Bustarviejo[+]

The route is reaching its end, but there are still two towns left. The first of these is Bustarviejo, at more than 1,200 metres above sea level.

Bustarviejo is surrounded by peaks, such as Pendón or Bustar, and for many years, city folk from the capital have had second homes here, coming in search of peace and quiet in contact with nature.

As you walk through the streets, don't miss the Main Square, which has rows of curved, granite seats on two sides. The town hall is on one of the other sides. Very close is the 15th-century Inmaculada Concepción Church, which has a "Latin cross" floor-plan, and a later, 17th-century portal.

One of the excursions you can make in Bustarviejo is the Vía Crucis, a set of granite crosses leading the way from the town to the Shrine of Soledad.

Valdemanco [+]

The last stop takes you to the village of Valdemanco. However, before this, it is worth stopping at the Berruti workshop-museum, a Uruguayan artist whose sculptures are in total harmony with the surrounding countryside: horsemen, travellers, an array of animals… Berruti was overcome by the beauty all round him and Valdemanco provided him with a place where his sculptures could come to life.

The chronicles say that the name Valdemanco comes from an inhabitant of Bustarviejo, Juan Valdés, who set up a mill there, and who had only one arm ("manco" means "one arm missing"). Whether or not that is the case, Valdemanco is a mountain village where you can see the kind of traditional buildings that you have seen all along the route.

It has a modern church, Nuestra Señora del Carmen. As you walk through the town, you will see the old horse-shoeing stand, also a small monument to the quarry workers who have always lived in the village.

This route has taken you through the mountains of Madrid on the course of the Guadalix River, flanked on the north by the Sierra de la Cabrera Mountains. Spectacular granite rock formations, as well as a large reservoir with well-tended shores that has been part of your journey through the villages of what was formerly called the Sierra Pobre of Madrid.