• Region: Madrid
• Declared a Biosphere Reserve: 2005
• Protected area: 15,230.8 ha Includes the Hayedo de Montejo beech forest.
• Towns and villages: Horcajuelo de la Sierra, Montejo de la Sierra, Prádena del Rincón, La Hiruela, Puebla de la Sierra.

Points of interest

Located less than a hundred kilometers from Madrid, the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve is a mountainous territory between the Ayllón and Somosierra massifs. It is known as one of the most beautiful and least discovered places in the Community of Madrid.

Historically, the low fertility of the land and the harsh climate were key to the emergence of a landscape dominated by forestry and livestock in a generally underpopulated area of Spain. Improvements in road and rail networks and the discovery/protection of the beech forest known as Hayedo de Montejo has generated a fair amount of rural tourism in the area.

clive

I’ve been living in this lovely area of Western Andalucia for the last 20 years or so and dedicate most of my time to the running of English language tourist information websites for the towns of Cádiz, Ronda, Grazalema, the famous or infamous Caminito del Rey, and also Wildside Holidays, which promotes sustainable and eco-friendly businesses running wildlife and walking holidays in Spain.