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The Sierra de Gredos route |
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We begin our journey in Candeleda, a place with many wonderful examples of popular architecture to admire, such as the town hall building and the Candeleda church.
We take the C-501 and arrive at Poyales de Hoyo, well known as a centre for handcrafted items, where many beautiful objects are made from a range of natural materials such as wood, cardboard, stone and leather. There is also the interesting Museo de las Abejas ( bee museum ) to visit and enjoy. Continuing on the same road we arrive at Arenas de San Pedro, situated in the south of the region. An area rich in cultural heritage such as the 15th century castle - fortress La Triste Condesa, the 18th century Don Luis de Borbón palace where the famous Francisco de Goya lived for a while and whose interior has a replica staircase of the one in the royal palace in Madrid, the 14th century Gothic church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, two Roman bridges, the San Pedro de Alcántara sanctuary, founded by San Pedro de Alcántara, confessor to Santa Teresa. In the sanctuary you can see the cell where he lived and slept ( a very small space for a person who measured 1.80m ) as well as the museum of sacred art with numerous interesting liturgical pieces. We take a detour, linking on to the N-502 until we arrive at Ramacastañas, where you'll find the incredible Cuevas del Águila ( eagle caves ) which are full of stalactites and stalagmites in the strangest of shapes, which were discovered by the original guides. We then detour onto the C-501 arriving at Piedralaves, a locality which has many old country houses preserved with their large wooden balconies and the lovely 16th - 18th century San Antonio parish church full of Mudejar influence. We carry on the same road in the direction of La Adrada, a town belonging to the Montijo ruler ship. There are also the conserved ruins here of a 14th century castle and the 16th century forged Del Salavador parish church. On the way now to El Tiemblo, on the N-403, passing through Navahondilla we take a detour to the left which takes us close to the waste ground where you'll find the Los Toros de Guisando, carved in granite, originally dating back to the Celtic times of the 2nd century BC. We continue on the N-403 now until El Tiemblo, a place favoured as a second residence by the Madrileños. Here there are numerous interesting monuments to see such as the 16th century parish church as well as many local beauty spots including the mouth of the Yedra and El Castañar rivers, one of the biggest and oldest of the "Sistema Central" , the Burguillo reservoir where you can enjoy many different water sports, or the popular Alberche valley ( one of the most crowded areas during summer ). From El Tiemblo, we direct onto the AV-512 to Cebreros, a famous wine cultivating area. Within the cultural heritage here we can enjoy the 16th century parish church, constructed by either the architect Alonso de Covarrubias or Juan de Herrera. In the surrounding area we can visit the ancient ruins of a 12th century temple. We finish our journey at El Hoyo de Pinares, on the AV-502, so named because of the sheer quantity of pine trees which exist in this area. The most important monuments here are the 16th century parish church and the lovely Del Caño fountain. |
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