In the Vicálvaro district, on the border with Vallecas, sandwiched between the A-3 and M-45 motorways, rises in the southeast of the city of Madrid Almodovar Hill. A small green lung between highways, industrial estates and blocks of flats where you can take a breather and also reach some Spectacular views of the capital.
The site also has a special geological interest, since there are sepiolite quarries in its surroundings and minerals such as flint, chalcedony, resinite, white opal or spatic calcite on its top.
In the shade of a pine forest.
HOW TO GET
To get there by car (we should not confuse it with the Cerro Almodóvar Park in Carabanchel) it is best to take the A-3 and park on Cerro Almodóvar street (parallel to the national), next to the homonymous school and sports center. By public transport, the closest thing to leaving us is Santa Eugenia train station (C2 and C7 suburban lines). Of course we can also cycling through the green cycling ring, which passes relatively close by (in fact, the site is ideal for pedaling).
Once there, we headed up the climb (about 15 minutes in total on foot) from the roundabout, where the widest and most obvious path is marked with a couple of pivots, after some small stairs. In this first part we will have the shade of a pine forest, where there is also a picnic area where you can spend the day. The rest of the journey will give us the sun, so it is convenient to take protection.
There are several well-defined intersecting paths that lead to the top, we can choose the one that our body asks for. There is no loss: we have to reach the highest stop that we see in the park. We opted to slope a first hill to the left and then turn right, upon reaching the light tower, for a path that marks the ascent with pivots on Both Sides.
Ascent path.
THE VIEWS
We do the ascent to the brave ones, in a straight line, steep but effective. A small effort that will be rewarded at the top, with the impressive 360º panoramic views that we have of the city. It looks practically whole. Looking north (in the direction we have come up), the bottom of skyline It will not be difficult for us to recognize the Lollipop (Torrespaña), the KIO Towers (Puerta de Europa) or the Cuatro Torres Business Area (CTBA), with the Sierra de Guadarrama behind.
South is also seen as far as the eye can see, and we will be able to recognize the Cerro de los Angeles of Getafe among many other points. Is he time to take out our camera, lens and tripod and throw imagination (or with our mobile, failing that). We can also get some binoculars, or simply enjoy the views with our own eyes.
Almodovar Hill, MADRID
At this point we will see a geodesic vertex installed in 1974, at 726 meters above sea level (Madrid is at an average altitude of 657 meters). On its edge we can sit down to rest for as long as we like, before line up the descent, which we will do in a zigzag to avoid slipping and, by the way, not to do the same path as on the way out.