Patones de Arriba and El Atazar

The Iruelas Valley is a nature reserve located in the province of Ávila. It has a reservoir, surrounded by life, and the Castañar del Tiemblo, an extremely beautiful place -especially when the leaves fall-. All less than 1 hour from the capital.

Difficulty of the route: ★★☆☆☆ (average)

The small village of Patones de Arriba is located in the community of Madrid, just 50 minutes from the city centre. Legend has it that the village was ruled by a king, whose oldest writings date back to 1653.

The village is a quiet place full of history. It has a well-kept appearance and its architectural beauty is to be admired. Patones de Arriba has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. It belongs to the famous so-called black villages of the Sierra Norte, a place not to be missed for its tourist and rural attraction. The buildings are made of wood, stone, slate and adobe, which are used to make the are currently maintained in perfect condition.

To the north of this magical place, you can access hiking trails with beautiful views of the Atazar reservoir.

Ruta el cacho de la cabeza

The access to this route is located just on a bridge to the north of the village of Patones de Arriba. This road belongs to a famous route called Genaro Trailwhich also offers other hiking routes in the area.

The route lasts approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes.

It is of no difficulty, is suitable for anyone and does not require great physical fitness.

If you go by car, we recommend parking south of the village Patones de Arriba.There is a big and free car park, called Parking Disuasorio Patones. Then you can enjoy the walk to the north, visit the village of Patones and start the trail.

The road is fairly flat until you almost reach the end of the route. Along the way you can explore your senses; smell plants such as rosemary, spot some birds, listen to the sound of water and feel the flora around you.

A large part of the hike takes place along the banks of a stream, which with its pleasant sound helps us to relax and enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery in a fairly peaceful atmosphere.

At the end of the walkWe reach a peak with beautiful views, to the south we can see the valley and to the north the Atazar reservoir.

In our case, we could not reach the end of the route as we started the journey very late and would return without natural light. So we we opted for a plan B;

Atazar reservoir

Plan BWe returned to the car at sunset and drove for 15 minutes along the eastern road to the viewpoint of the Embalse del Atazar, and simply fell in love with the view in the light of the golden hour.

We arrived at a viewpoint located 15 minutes drive from the car park of initiation to the routes in the Patones area. The views are incredible, as you can see in the photos, and we recommend exploring every corner of this privileged reserve that many people don't know about, located in the Community of Madrid.

This community is in charge of preserving the rural essence in its entirety and treasures an infinite number of corners of great natural and cultural value in the community of Madrid.

Information on viewpoints, restaurants, hotels, routes, activities, guides and maps of the area can be found on the mancomunidad's website https://embalsedelatazar.es.