Digital Project

Sierra de Guadarrama Map

History

Transport

From Madrid, you can get to Sierra Guadarrama via bus line 691 as well as the cercanias train C8 and C9.

Located in the Central Mountain Range, the surface of the park encompasses 33,960 hectares. The majority of its surface is covered by heights dominated by rocky outcrops, mountain pastures and shrubs.

During the Roman Empire epoch, Segovia and Toledo were connected by a roadway called La Fuenfria Pass. Later this region became a common area for farmers to move cattle to fresh meadows. The pinewood forests are also integral for the logging industry in Spain. However, the most important role of Sierra Guadarrama is its biodiversity.

La Pedriza

Cercedilla

La Pedriza is part of the southern slopes of the Guadarrama mountain range. In 2016, restrictions to protect the park were put in place and swimming in the natural pools is now prohibited.

La Fuenfria Valley has been used as a communication path over the centuries. The "Roadway" (La Calzada) is the eldest path from the Roman epoch. There is a numbered milestone series placed along the Roman roads to mark the distance every 1,000 steps, a Roman mile, about 1.481m.

Flora

The Sierra de Guadarrama presents high flora diversity due to its geographical location. This position has allowed the existence of transitional characteristics between the Mediterranean and the Euro-Siberian regions. The Sierra de Guadarrama has acted as a refuge for colder environments which had a wider distribution in the past and have disappeared from the neighboring territories.

In addition, the Sierra de Guadarrama generates a high variability for climate and soil in a relatively small area of land, which results in the existence of a large number of habitats.

Forget Me Not

Water Clover

Geranium from el Paular

Flora

In the National Park there are 43 trees catalogued as exceptional, according to the Castilla León and Madrid Autonomous Communities environmental regulations.

Trees are considered exceptional when they have been able to survive throughout the years despite impactful environmental changes or conditions, such as climate change, logging, and charcoal usage.

Within the National Park exceptional trees, the Barondillo Stream yew is estimated at 1,500 years old.

Barondillo Stream yew

Spanish juniper of Los Canalizos

Wych Elm

Fauna

In the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park and in its Peripheral Protection Zone, there are 58 species of mammals.

The European Badger commonly lives in the supramediterranean floor meadow areas.

The maximum protection status is held by the wolf. It is the only species of mammal whose conservation is a priority at the European level and it is currently expanding in the Sierra de Guadarrama.

The Iberian Ibex was present in all the peninsular mountainous systems until the 19th century, but the Napoleonic Wars, cattle pressure and hunting reduced their populations to small groups.

European Badger

Wolf

Iberian Ibex

Fauna: continued

Black Vulture

The Sierra de Guadarrama National Park and its Peripheral Protection Zone host 133 avian species having a regular presence sometime in the year, whether they are summer, wintering or standing species. The Black Vulture has the largest wingspan of birds living in Europe (almost 3 m from wing end to end).

Common Salamander

There are 15 species of amphibians in the region. The common salamander is very abundant in the Peñalara Massif region, however, they are in declining due to disease.

Iberian Emerald Lizard

There are 23 species of reptiles. Among the 23 mentioned species, the Iberian rock lizard, the Iberian emerald lizard, and the common wall lizard distribution areas are limited to mountain environments.

Beetles

Insects

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera are the most striking, showy, and best studied order in the Sierra de Guadarrama.

Grasshopper

Coleoptera is the most diverse order of insects. There are more than 10,000 species in Spain, among the 350,000 ones described worldwide. It is estimated that there are more than 2,500 Coleoptera species in Sierra de Guadarrama.

Podisma carpetana, is a grasshopper classified as extinction risk status at the Community of Madrid level.The Sierra de Guadarrama subspecies is the carpetana, and Sierra de Guadarrama is the only known habitat.