- Region: Madrid and Castilla y León
- Province: Madrid and Segovia
- Declared a National Park: 2013
- Park surface area: 33, 960 hectares
- Towns and Villages: (Madrid) Alameda del Valle, Becerril de la Sierra, Canencia, Cercedilla, El Boalo, Guadarrama, Los Molinos, Lozoya, Manzanares el Real, Miraflores de la Sierra, Navacerrada, Navarredonda y San Mamés, Pinilla del Valle, Rascafría, Soto del Real. (Segovia) Aldealengua de Pedraza, Basardilla, Collado Hermoso, El Espinar, Gallegos, La Losa, Navafría, Navas de Riofrío , Ortigosa del Monte, Otero de Herreros, Palazuelos de Eresma, Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, Santiuste de Pedraza, Santo Domingo de Pirón, Segovia, Sotosalbos, Torre Val de San Pedro, Torrecaballeros, Trescasas.
Points of interest
Not without it’s controversy over the years (due to it conflicting with housing and other human development plans), the Guadarrama National Park project was finally declared in 2013.
Its aims are to protect the eleven different ecosystems present in the Guadarrama mountains, including the only Iberian examples of “high Mediterranean mountain”. There are almost 1,300 different animal species in the area of which 13 are in danger of extinction. The species of animals in the mountains represent 45% of the total fauna of Spain and 18% of European fauna. There are mammals such as deer (red, roe and fallow), wild boar, Spanish Ibex, badgers, several mustelidaes, wild cats, foxes, hares, etc. Iberian wolf also seems to have returned to the area after a 70-year absence..
Clive Muir – Wildside Holidays – Walking, wildlife and culture holidays in Spain
I’ve been living in western Andalucía for more than 20 years and spend much of my time researching and running English-language travel websites about Spain. My work covers destinations including Cádiz, Ronda, Grazalema and the Caminito del Rey, as well as Wildside Holidays, which focuses on walking, wildlife and nature travel in Spain.
Through Wildside Holidays, I share practical information about Spain’s natural parks, mountains, wildlife and walking destinations, drawing on many years of living and travelling in the country. The aim is to help visitors discover Spain’s natural landscapes responsibly and plan rewarding walking and wildlife experiences.