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SPAIN | The Sierra de Gredos, Spain Travel Guide
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
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Sierra de Gredos North Face
North Face of the Sierra de Gredos
The N-403 south from Ávila is a lovely, scenic drive up, down and around a rolling, rocky terrain with long vistas of valleys and the mountains looming ever larger. After 25 km (15 miles), turn west onto the C-500 headed in the direction of Navaluenga; this road spans the north face as it passes through villages. First stop is Navarredonda, roughly 50 km (31 miles) down the road. Four km (2.4 miles) farther on, just before reaching the village of Hoyos del Espino, the turn-off on the AV-931 leads to La Plataforma, the base area for the Reserva Nacional de Gredos. To reach Piedrahita, continue past Hoyos on the C-500; after passing through Navacepeda de Tormes, look for the small sign on the right indicating the winding secondary road that leads to Piedrahita, a 30-minute drive to the north.
Navarredonda de Gredos and Barajas
The small mountain villages of Navarredonda de Gredos and nearby Barajas are situated on a rise north of the mountain ridge with a gentle sweep of foothills laid out before them, perfect terrain for a casual ride through pine and juniper forests that conceal a neat web of trails and shallow creeks. Save for the terrific surroundings, the villages are relatively unspectacular. There are plenty of restaurants and lodgings and make decent base camps. Most travelers prefer to continue to El Barco de Ávila, a larger and more architecturally stimulating town at the western end of the range, where the C-500 connects to the N-110.
Hoyos del Espino
The village of Hoyos del Espino is closest to the entrance of the Reserva Nacional de Gredos. East of the town the AV-9311 leads south to the parking and base area known as La Plataforma (1,750 m/5,740 feet). A number of trailheads merge at this spot and indicate the most popular hikes in the reserve. One of these leads to the Laguna Grande, a glacier-carved lake with vibrant blue water just below the peak of Almanzor.
Piedrahita
North of the N-500, the town of Piedrahita serves as a base-camp for paragliders that launch off the nearby Puerta de la Peña Negra (1,909 m/6,260 feet). The town itself has a few interesting sites, including a Neoclassical palace built for the Dukes of Alba and modeled on the palace of Versailles (it’s now a public school and the gardens aren’t as splendid as they once might have been) and a cheery, arcaded plaza mayor.
Last updated February 2, 2012
Posted in Spain | The Sierra de Gredos
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