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Summit, cirque and lagoons of Peñalara

Rascafría, Sierra Norte, Madrid

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones

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Summit, cirque and lagoons of Peñalara

Nature · Rascafría, Sierra Norte, Madrid

The Cumbre, Circo y Lagunas de Peñalara natural park, in the central part of the sierra de Guadarrama, in the municipality of Rascafría, was declared a protected area on 15 June 1990 and covers 768 hectares. It comprises the Peñalara peak, the highest in the range at 2428 metres, three small cirques, two moraines and several glacial lagoons, among them the Laguna Grande, the Laguna de los Pájaros and the Laguna de los Claveles. Its vegetation combines high-mountain scrub, pastures and Scots pine woods in the lower areas with alpine meadows and rocky outcrops higher up; its fauna includes the black vulture and the Spanish imperial eagle. It is reached by several paths from the Cotos pass, and offers hiking, climbing and cross-country skiing in winter.

Photo: Miguel303xm (CC BY-SA 2.5)

What to see and do in Rascafría