Jacqueline oglesby

The mountains of central spain Jacqueline oglesby

The Sierras de Gredos and Guadarrama are the highest part of the long chain of hills and mountains which splits the big central tableland of Spain. Popular from Madrid, they are rarely visited by foreigners except those en route to the coast or the medieval cities which surround the range. The two sierras form an impressive physical barrier, reaching a height of nearly 2600m and snow-capped for five months of the year, and they have much to offer the walker, scrambler or climber.
The Sierra de Gredos are the highest and most inaccessible mountains in Central Spain with many long approaches up wild valleys or spurs to spectacular corries backed by jagged ar?tes. The Sierra de Guadarrama, nearer to Madrid and crossed by several high road passes, offers more intimate walking on a dense network of good footpaths and with a rich variety of scenery from rolling ridges to tightly packed granite towers.
Lower than the better known Spanish ranges, they offer an enjoyable mixture of open ridge walking and spectacular scrambling in a dry and sunny climate.