Discover Bustarviejo: Nature, History and Holiday Apartments

The Destacamento Penal y Viaducto route runs through the Dehesa Vieja and Los Molinos area; at the same time, it recalls a penal labor camp where political prisoners who had defended the Republic worked under harsh conditions on the construction of the Madrid–Burgos railway line.

Nature and Trails

The route between Bustarviejo and Manzanares El Real follows the historic course of the Cañada Real Segoviana for 25.6 kilometers. Thanks to public transport connections in municipalities such as Miraflores de la Sierra and Soto del Real, it can be completed in stages. Entre Pozas y Huertos is shorter: the circular route is 2.8 kilometers long and has an elevation gain of 78 meters.

The Mondalindo y Peña Negra route offers views of the Sierra de Guadarrama, the Sierra de Ayllón, the Sierra de la Cabrera and the Madrid plain. Entre Pozas y Huertos passes by the Grande, Chica and del Prado Mayor ponds, as well as the irrigation channels known as caceras. The predominant ecosystem along this route is a riparian forest with oaks, blackthorn, plum trees, willows and blackberry bushes.

In Valle Hermoso there are trails, numerous streams and oaks of various sizes; kites, eagles and vultures can also be spotted there. The Cañada de las Merinas route follows a section of a traditional livestock trail of great ethnographic value and makes the historically significant transhumance in the Sierra Norte visible.

Ascensión al Pico Mondalindo is 12 kilometers long, follows old mining paths and passes by the historic silver mines of Cuesta de la Plata. The circular route begins and ends in Bustarviejo. The different distances, circular formats and themes make it easier for you to compare short nature trails, longer routes and historically themed trails.

Culture and History

The Iglesia de la Purísima Concepción is the most outstanding building in Bustarviejo's cultural heritage from a historical and artistic perspective. It has a square tower dating from the late 15th or early 16th century. Archaeological work at the church uncovered a medieval necropolis carved into the rock, an anthropomorphic sarcophagus and 14th-century murals.

The Iglesia de la Purísima Concepción also contains fragments of a medieval mural in the linear Gothic style with a warlike theme; they are considered the only surviving example of their kind in the Comunidad de Madrid.

The Mina de Plata de Bustarviejo was mined until the end of the 19th century. At the mine, visitors can choose between access to the mine, with remains of 20th-century exploration work, and the upper shafts, with arsenopyrite outcrops and views of the Sierra de Guadarrama. Outside the Mina de Plata de Bustarviejo, information panels explain the individual components of the mining and industrial complex.

La Torre del Indiano was built in the 17th century and was protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural heritage site in 1983. The Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is a simple rural building from the 17th century; in front of it stands a stone wayside cross dating from around 1940.

Festivals and Local Insights

The traditional San Isidro festival in Bustarviejo combines a procession, traditional rosquillas, paella, music and activities for children and young people. During the Feria del Campo, Bustarviejo's village square is transformed into an improvised farm with sheep, cows, chickens, horses and pigs.

Cerveza Bailandera offers a tour of its workshop, an explanation of the production processes and, afterward, a tasting of four beer varieties at its own Cervecería. The Mina de la Plata Trail was documented in 2026 in its fourth edition.

Routes

There is no water source along the entire Vuelta al Pendón. MTB route.

Other destinations: Navacerrada, Estremera, Cenicientos, El Gasco, Belmonte De Tajo, Aldea Del Fresno, Aranjuez, Colmenar Viejo

To the higher-level travel overview: Madrid.