El Rincón de Rascafría

Rascafría is located in the National Park of Sierra de Guadarrama. The Park occupies an area of ​​33,960 hectares, of which almost 64% corresponds to the Autonomous Community of Madrid and just over 36% belongs to Segovia, in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León. 

The Peñalara peak, with its 2,428 m., is the highest summit, and together with four other neighboring peaks of more than 2,271 m, it forms the crest of the striking Macizo de Peñalara, (Peñalara Massif) which extends from the Puerto de Los Cotos (Cotos Mountain Pass), in N-NE direction, until the Collado del Camino del Nevero (Hill of the Nevero Road).

The Peñalara massif is particularly interesting for its glacial geomorphology. Peñalara peak stands out on the footprints carved by glacial ice that, about 18,000 years ago, covered this area with a mantle of up to 300 meters thick. The subsequent retreat of the ice left a well-preserved glacial modeling, unique in the Community of Madrid. The difference in altitude and the complex relief have led to habitats of great uniqueness for their rarity and for being more typical of northern areas.

Rascafría is located next to the Lozoya Valley and the Lozoya River, in the northwest part of the Sierra Madrileña (Madrid Mountain Range). Nearby is the Pinilla Reservoir.
 
Rascafría is a place surrounded by mountains, with beautiful views and a cool climate, making it a place where winter snow surrounds the area. The forests, lagoons, streams, valleys, pastures, mountain peaks or even glaciers, are the places you can visit, with an enviable and wide variety of fauna and flora.

Very close to Rascafría is the Monastery of Santa María de El Paular, which began to be built in 1390, being the first charterhouse of the Kingdom of Castile, and remained so for 450 years. Currently, since 1954, it is a Benedictine abbey, a jewel of undeniable value, with different architectural styles such as Gothic and Baroque. It is open to visits.

The Puente del Perdón (“Bridge of Forgiveness”), dating from 1302, is worthy of special mention. It was built by the monks as a replacement ofa previous wooden one and to facilitate access to the paper factory. The current one was made in the middle of the XVIII century, and it is a beautiful construction in granite masonry with three arches and two resting places with semicircular benches. The bridge is located in front of the Monastery of El Paular and bears this name because in it the local representatives met to administer justice, without the need to go to a higher authority. The defendants could appeal their sentence for the last time and see their sentence commuted, if the court considered it justice.

On the other side of the road, the Casa de la Madera (“Wooden House”) is a superb 18th-century building that once housed a sawmill dependent on El Paular. It has two large doors with lintels and a carved eaves. It used to be the sawmill of the monastery.
In front of the Monastery, next to the bridge, a pleasant path leads to the Giner de los Ríos Arboretum, a botanical garden on the banks of the Lozoya River. It has a representation of trees and shrubs of deciduous forests with more than 200 species, separated according to the areas of origin, from Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The route can be walked or bicycle-ridden.
 
Mountain resorts: In the municipality of Rascafría you can find the ski resort of Valdesquí, where you can do various outdoor activities such as hiking, sledding in winter, snowshoeing, etc.

The gastronomy of Rascafría is interesting. During the months of October and November, gastronomy days on mushrooms, game meat and wine are celebrated.
Also throughout the year, the restaurateurs offer a selection of the best recipes prepared with the natural ingredients found in the forests, all of them combined with the best wines of Denominación de Origen Vinos de Madrid (“Wines from Madrid-Designation of Origin”).

RascafríaTourist Office
Avenida del Valle s/n. Rascafría
Telephone: 91869 18 04
 
Villa de Rascafría City Council
Plaza de la Villa, 1. Rascafría