One hour from the Retiro Park (to put an address) nature awaits you in El Castañar de El Tiemblo, Ávila
Between the reservoirs San Juan and Burguillo , in the heart of the Alberche Valley, rises the tremor , first town of Ávila circulating from Madrid by the N-403, what will we catch in San Martin de Valdeiglesias after leaving the swamp road ( M-501 ) . To lead the way to its famous chestnut , the largest in the Central System, we have to get into the town center and turn left at the first roundabout. Shortly after there will be a fork where you have to take the left branch again, leaving the path to the campsite on the right (everything is quite well indicated with huge indicative signs).
Burguillo Reservoir
Access to the chestnut grove is regulated in the autumn season due to the large number of visitors it receives, so if we go in this season we will surely find the control set up shortly after. If this is the case we will have to pay 2 euros per visitor to be able to upload, and we are presented with two options: leave the car in the control parking lot and get on the bus (included in the 2-euro ticket, runs approximately every 20 minutes), or pay another 6 euros per car and upload it to the parking lot above, in the middle of the chestnut grove. The rest of the year we can climb to the top for free and without problem, but if we want to do it in the fall it is more than recommended Get up early to avoid the queues that form.
The perfect landscape for a walk
Once there, the most common route is the PR-AV54, a circular walk of low difficulty suitable for doing as a family, about two hours long in which, however, we can turn around whenever we feel like it. Along this path we will enjoy not only its towering and numerous chestnut trees, also of various trees and shrubs : hawthorns, hazelnuts, mountain elms, wild cherry trees, willows, holly, heather, ferns... Bird lovers will also observe some specimen of jay, nuthatch, blackbird or thrush. We will also find a source, but with non-drinking water, so put the full bottle from home in the backpack.
A two-hour walk through nature
There are two mandatory stops on the tour: to observe and photograph the Castaño El Abuelo , the dry and hollow trunk of a specimen of more than 800 years old (it is surrounded by a fence that must not be crossed, since its survival is in danger), and to visit the Majalavilla Shelter, stone house of about 20 square meters where mountaineers and adventurers can spend the night and warm up in the heat of its fireplace (except in the hot months) as long as they comply with the rules of stay (which are still those dictated by common sense , but what are indicated at the entrance when in doubt ) .
Nowadays it is not allowed to pick chestnuts from the ground , since this behavior makes the natural regeneration of the forest impossible and deprives the animals that inhabit it of their food. Neither can any type of vegetation, flowers, seeds, earth or stones be uprooted or cut.
If we have gone early in the morning we will have finished the tour before at lunch time . Being a Natural reserve, there are no recreational areas s, so we will have to leave the forest environment if what we want is to have a picnic .
But if what we want is to eat hot we can give ourselves a good tribute in the Casa Mariano Grill in the town, whose fame is mainly due to its excessive portions and in which it is more than prudent to book a week in advance. If we have not been so farsighted, we will find another great recommendation at the foot of the road in Pelayos of the Dam , about 15 minutes returning to Madrid: cross coast _(C/ Marcial Llorente, 15) _, a biker terrace with grilled meats, an abundant and varied menu, karaoke, billiards and even a SpongeBob bouncy castle that will delight the little ones.
And if we have been wanting to see something else, The visit to El Tiemblo can be completed in two ways. The first and most common is to stop to see the Stewing Bulls , which far from being located in the town of the same name (where we will have to make do with a small replica) are found in this municipality, at the foot of Monte Guisando, at kilometer 1.6 of the AV-904 road. Until recently the visit was free.
Currently you have to pay 2 euros ( except the first Friday and the first 3 Wednesdays of each month ) . In front of him, if we look closely among the vegetation of the mountain, we will see the second proposal: **the ruins of the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Guisando **, which will offer a priceless visit to all those who love abandoned sites and movies terror. Of course, it can only be visited on Saturdays by reserving a place in advance. At the taste of the consumer.
The ruins that complete the visit
*Article originally published on November 8, 2016 and updated, with the new regulations, on November 11, 2019.