The route ...
Cercedilla hosts one of the most distinctive and beautiful places in the Community of Madrid, that is the Fuenfría Valley, that it is almost entirely covered by a splendid pine forest, although there are also trees at the riverside Venta - one of the many channels that surround the place - and high mountain vegetation above 2,000m of altitude.
Protected areas
In Cercedilla there are several
protected areas, highlighting the importance of the Regional Park of Cuenca
Alta of the Manzanares, a figure of environmental protection in the Community
of Madrid, which protects the peaks and slopes of the mountains and
forests.
Cercedilla is also included as one
of the largest parts in the Natural
Park
There is a network of marked trails
that run through the valley and lead the visitors to the most emblematic places
of this site.
The proposed route starts at the Environmental Education Center Valley Fuenfría. Nice, quiet and simple, along its 6,600 km which are completed on 2h - passes two recreational areas, natural pools, the old Roman road that we have walked through the first day - with many bridges still standing up that also matches the Camino de Santiago from Madrid – also, it crosses the historical road of the Republic, a forest track that leads to La Ducha de los Alemanes, the Mirador de los Poetas and also we can discover Camilo José Cela.
However, if you want to avoid the first 1,600 km of the route, you can go by car to Point 4 and begin walking path there. Access starting point: the A-6 until km 47, where the M-614 towards Guadarrama is caught. Once in the village, arriving at Calle Alfonso Senra, we turn on the left and continue along the N-VI direction La Coruña. About 1km later, the M-622 is taken to Los Molinos-Cercedilla. Once we pass Los Molinos and when in Cercedilla, we take the M-966, which goes to Las Dehesas.
The Environmental Education Center Valley Fuenfría which offers information, a library, an exhibition hall and a garden, plus activities such as guided and self-guided trails, thematic walks, courses or the Train of Nature; represents the starting point of this route following the directions for the Youth Hostel Las Dehesas and the Roman road. After walking a few meters on the right side of the road, a Recreation Area can be seen at Las Praderas which is nestled in a beautiful natural setting full of Scot pines (Pinus sylvestris).
The wooded area of this tree species - one of the highlights of the Madrid area - dominates the valley. There are trees that can reach 40m in height, have green, stiff and short needles - of 3-7cm in length, which are grouped in pairs and small buds. Their trunks are slender, naked, red on top and gray and rough at the bottom, their top is short when the tree is still young, but when adult, it becomes irregular, broad and flattened on top.
