In the heart of the Cuenca Alta del Manzanares Regional Park and the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park is Manzanares El Real, a medieval town in Madrid ideal to visit in autumn. This municipality is an ideal place to enjoy nature, history and outdoor sports less than 60 kilometers from Madrid.
Those who visit Manzanares El Real will witness a typical spectacle of the Middle Ages: the Los Mendoza Castle stands in the municipality. This 15th-century monument is one of the last examples of Castilian military architecture and a visit inside its walls – since it can be explored in its entirety – never disappoints. Although its initial function was as a fortress, it ended up becoming the residential palace of the Mendozas and its interior houses tapestries and furniture from the 17th century.
Its silhouette cut into the hillside and surrounded by the rocky landscapes of La Pedriza and the waters of the Santillana reservoir arouses the desire to take out the camera and immortalize the moment.
There is an original way to get to know this castle: through the 45-minute theatrical tours organized by actors representing Don Íñigo López de Mendoza and his daughter Brianda, who guide visitors through the rooms of this medieval jewel with large halls. and a three-nave church. Outside, there is also the Garden of the Senses, with plants selected based on historical documentation and medicinal plants, a nod to the friars’ garden that the Duke owned, a labyrinth and a palenque that recalls the gaming rooms and tournament settings of the past. In addition, fencing days, film screenings and choral music, among others, are held on several occasions.
The Old Castle, stronghold of Manzanares El Real
The old castle of Manzanares El Real is the great unknown of the castles of Madrid, of which there is no trace of its promoter or its date of construction. It is a new project of social archaeology, promoted by the City Council of Manzanares El Real and with the support of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Community of Madrid, with the implementation of a research plan that allows to reveal its mysteries and to create a new cultural and scientific enclave that favors local development.
Located on a hill overlooking La Pedriza, the course of the Manzanares River and the Cañada Real Segoviana, are the remains of a fortress known as Castillo Viejo, whose walls are preserved up to a height of about three meters. Built with granite masonry and brick borders, its plan is rectangular and has three cylindrical towers, in addition to the Torre del Homenaje, which has a square plan and almost fourteen meters on each side. The access door to the fortress was located in the center of the eastern façade, although it is now lost. This construction has similarities with some castles in the Community of Madrid such as those of Buitrago (14th-15th centuries), Santorcaz (14th century) or Villafranca (mid-15th century).
A route through La Pedriza
La Pedriza, La Pedriza de Manzanares or simply and affectionately “La Pedri”, as the neighbors call it, is not only a brutal granite complex but rather a magnificent space where rocks, forests, rivers and streams meet.
Located in the south of the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, sheltered by the peaks of Cuerdalarga, with Manzanares El Real at its feet and a few kilometers from Madrid, it is an irresistible temptation for climbers, hikers and nature lovers.
Entering one of its many paths and routes is an experience for the senses that is always different, so much so that one could say that there are a thousand and one Pedrizas within Pedriza itself.
Reach its peaks, walk its trails, stop to contemplate the goats moving along its rocks, the smell of the cistus at sunset, observe the river sculpting the rocks, listen to the wind playing with the trees and the song of the birds, contemplate the stone in the moonlight and sleep in a bivouac is something truly unforgettable.
The Santillana reservoir, Madrid’s favorite
We are undoubtedly facing one of the most popular green spaces in the Community of Madrid, since hundreds of fishing enthusiasts, sportsmen, hikers or simply families come to its banks and decide to disconnect from their daily tasks and recharge their batteries with some pure energy, air and a beautiful natural environment.
The Santillana reservoir, also known as the Manzanares El Real reservoir (because it is located in this municipality and in Soto del Real), is located unchanged at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama. It is one of the references in hydroelectric works in Madrid. In 1908 it was inaugurated by Alfonso XIII.
Its construction was promoted by Joaquín Arteaga y Echagüe (Marquis of Santillana, from whom it would take its popular name) with the intention of developing the then nascent and insufficient hydroelectric network of Madrid.
The Santillana reservoir has an approximate distance of 30 km from one bank to the other and is built mainly with a wall of mixed vegetal asphalt and bulk materials. A visit to the Santillana reservoir in Madrid is highly recommended, as it will allow us to enjoy several very interesting elements. One of them, without a doubt, is the neo-Gothic style tower erected at a height of approximately 35 meters, and which was practically the only construction of the first project that was not covered by water during the renovation of the 1960s.
