Laguna Grande de Peñalara Route

Puerto de Cotos

The route starts from the car park at the pass and crosses the road to enter the Nature Reserve. The path is asphalted for a few metres up to the Information Centre, where you can find out about the various routes that you can do, as well as basic advice on these. Do not forget that the area is protected.

Once on the way, you can admire the view from the Gitana viewpoint, a few metres down the track, from where you can see the many mountain tops in the Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains.

The path leads upwards to the Fuente del Cedrón, and a bit further on you can see one of the first lakes, a small one, that are found on the way up. A few metres on from the first lake is another Park Information Centre, from where another route starts to the Laguna de los Pájaros. Depending on how fit you are and how much time you have, you can decide whether to visit one, or both, lakes. The route continues its ascent, leaving the Laguna de los Pájaros on the right.

Laguna Grande de Peñalara

After about three kilometres, you will see the Laguna Grande, when you will be able to rest and enjoy the views of a spectacular part of the mountains of Madrid. The lake has been fenced off to prevent access to the banks, because of erosion. This decision was made because of the deterioration caused by large numbers of visitors in previous years.

From here, if you want to see the Laguna de los Pájaros, you have to turn back to the information centre and continue the route from there. However, you can also climb up to the Zabala refuge hut, a building that, for years, has served to shelter nature lovers, mountain walkers, climbers and anyone who has been caught unawares by bad weather. It is currently used exclusively by the Park as a store and weather station.

It is a much harder stretch up to the refuge hut than what you have done so far, consisting of a 200-metre incline which will be difficult for those who are not familiar with mountains.

La Cuerda Larga

A kilometre from here, at 2100 metres above sea level is a cross-roads well-known by the mountaineers from Madrid, called La Cuerda Larga. It is so called because you can see a string of mountain tops that are not too steep. There are seven peaks, and it is one of the most popular routes for mountaineers from the Madrid Region.

After having admired the Cuerda Larga, only a kilometre and a half remains to the end of the route and reaching the starting point at Cotos Pass. The path is easier, as you are going downwards.

It is recommended to do this route in spring in order to see the flora and fauna at their best, although the scenery is also spectacular around the lakes when there has been a snowfall. If you are thinking of doing the route in winter, follow the signs carefully and equip yourself with clothing and shoes suitable for snow.