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CHARMING VILLAGES
CiclaMadrid Route @ELEQUIPO / Community of Madrid
Living nature in the
mountains
The curious visitor soon discovers
that the municipality’s natural herita-
ge goes far beyond this emblematic
woodland. In the Pinar de Abantos,
the air smells of resin and highland fo-
rest. Here stands the Luis Ceballos Ar-
boretum, an environmental education
centre home to more than two hundred
species of Iberian trees and shrubs.
A visit becomes a botanical journey
across the peninsula, a reminder of the
extraordinary plant diversity sheltered
by the Sierra de Guadarrama.
Those seeking a more family-friendly
experience can head to InsectPark
Nature Centre, in the recreational area
of El Tomillar. This living museum sur-
prises with collections of butterflies,
beetles and other tiny creatures that,
under the magnifying glass, reveal the
hidden beauty of the natural world.
Every spring, San Lorenzo de El Es-
corial hosts the Travesía de las Cum-
bres Escurialenses, declared a Fes-
tival of Regional Tourist Interest. The
event, which covers 22 kilometres
across the peaks surrounding the mu-
nicipality, brings together athletes and
hiking enthusiasts in a day that blends
effort, landscape and camaraderie.
For cyclists, two CiclaMadrid routes
link the town with Moralzarzal and Ro-
bledo de Chavela, inviting riders to
pedal along secondary roads framed
by pine woods, pastures and moun-
tain villages
Illustrated heritage and
cultural life
However, the charm of the destination
does not end with its natural surroun-
dings. The historic and artistic ensemble
of San Lorenzo de El Escorial preserves
an urban heritage of remarkable cohe-
rence. La Lonja, the Jardín de los Frailes,
the Casita del Príncipe and the Casita
del Infante evoke the enlightened taste
of the Bourbons; the Real Coliseo Carlos
III, an eighteenth-century theatrical gem,
recalls that the performing arts also flouri-
shed here. Strolling through the Casa de
los Oficios, the Casa de los Infantes or
the Casa de la Reina is to walk through
the living history of a place where stone
still carries the echo of its golden ages.
In the surrounding area, the Club de
Golf La Herrería offers another way to
discover the landscape: playing among
centuries-old oaks and holm oaks, with
the imposing silhouette of the monastery
rising in the background. It is an image
that captures the essence of the place:
nature and heritage in harmony, a per-
fect balance between the human and the
natural.
Flavours of the Sierra
As in every memorable journey, the ex-
perience is completed at the table. The
local gastronomy honours the products
of the sierra: the tender, flavourful meat
from Guadarrama, or the seasonal
mushrooms, which local chefs turn into
mountain recipes full of aroma and sim-
plicity.
On the terraces and in the restaurants
of the historic centre, visitors find that
balance between the authentic and the
refined that defines highland hospitality.
After the meal, a gentle stroll through
the cobbled streets, with the sound of
the bells as a backdrop, prolongs the
feeling of being in a place where time
has stood still.
A Journey Through Time
Access, moreover, could not be easier.
From Madrid, you can arrive by Cer-
canías commuter train or aboard the
nostalgic Tren de Felipe II, ‘a 1940s
convoy that winds through holm oak
groves and meadows until stopping in
front of the Monastery’. The journey,
slow and panoramic, is a way of re-
turning to another era, when travelling
also meant looking and pausing.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial is, ultima-
tely, a destination where stone and
forest join hands. A UNESCO World
Heritage Site and the natural heart of
Madrid, it blends spirituality, art and
pure mountain air, inviting travellers
to rediscover unhurried time and the
beauty that lives in what is essential.
San Lorenzo
del Escorial
www.visitmadrid.es
Detail of the architecture of the Royal Monastery
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