Colmenar Viejo. Miraflores de la Sierra. Guadalix de la Sierra
We leave Madrid taking the N-I and, after 31 kilometres,
we come to the first of our goals, Colmenar Viejo. The most important
monument in Colmenar Viejo is the Iglesia de la Asunción,
of gothic style and renaissance ornamentation. We now leave Colmenar
Viejo, a traditionally agricultural village, and we take C-601
to Cerceda.
The parish church in Cerceda is worth a careful visit. On the
outskirts of the Santillana reservoir, on the highway that connects
Cerceda with Soto del Real, we find Manzanares del Real and its
proud castle of the Dukes of Infantado, built in the XV century
and restored some years ago. Also to be pointed out is the parish
church of Manzanares, from the XVI century, with its beautiful
renaissance portico.
Continuing on our road and, leaving behind Soto del Real, we take
a local highway, which links the first foothills of the Guadarrama
Mountains with the village of Miraflores de la Sierra, close to
the reservoir of the same name. Miraflores de la Sierra is today
a beautiful summer village. Its old district has been somehow
excluded from the enormous modern and urban growth that the village
itself experienced in these last few years. From Miraflores de
la Sierra we go to Lozoya, capital of the valley, where we find
a suggestive and delightful little plaza, dominated by a century
old tree.
The village church in whose construction Gil de Hontañón
participated is located there. On M-628, going along the skirt
of La Cabrera Mountains, we go past Bustarviejo and Valdemanco.
Little by little we catch sight of La Cabrera village that has
a church dug out of the rock.
A collection of villages, of summer and weekend houses pop up
all the way to N-I, going toward Madrid. We then turn off first
onto M-631 and afterward onto M-625, which takes us to Guadalix
de la Sierra. Guadalix proudly maintains its characteristic as
an agricultural and cattle-raising village. Its houses and beautiful
little plazas are immersed in a rapturous silence. The church
is from the last part of the XVI century and has a beautiful façade.
We go around the reservoir of El Vellón and we go back
to Madrid on N-I.