A real natural paradise awaits you in the Sierra de Gredos, a place where time seems to stand still and you can contemplate the beauty of a corner located in the Central System, where you will be able to do a lot of activities.
This area, dominated by Pico Almanzor, its highest peak, is located between the provinces of Toledo, Cáceres, Ávila, Madrid, Salamanca and Toledo, offering tourists one of the best views you can imagine in a granite landscape that is dotted with some areas of water.
In addition to all it has to offer in terms of nature, the Sierra de Gredos has a lot to offer on all its variants, as it also has some charming villages and a variety of activities to provide you with a very complete rural tourism experience.
It is one of the largest mountain ranges in the Sistema Central, home to the Spanish ibex, one of the icons of the Sierra de Gredos, in honour of which there are several monuments.
What to visit in the Sierra de Gredos?
The options are many and very diverse, but if we had to start somewhere, it would be the Casa del Parque, which is an Interpretation Centre where you can get all the information you need to make sure you don't miss anything in the Sierra de Gredos.
If there is one thing that predominates in this area, it is active tourism, with guided routes with special attention to the mycological (or mushroom hunting) routes, which are in great demand due to the great population of mushrooms that take over this area due to its climate.
Another of the activities you can do is to enjoy the sky. And it's not just us saying so, it's because the skies of the Sierra de Gredos have Starlight Dark Sky certification. In fact, there are some rural accommodations that promote this activity, still so unknown and yet so interesting.
And without taking your eyes off the sky, you can enjoy another of the activities that have become fashionable in recent years: bird watching. The Sierra de Gredos is the natural habitat of a host of species such as vultures, eagles and kites, and there are specially designated areas where you can spot them.
You can also explore the Sierra de Gredos on horseback or simply on foot until you reach the Circo and Laguna Grande de Gredos, protected by the 2500-metre-high Almanzor Peak, or contemplate the flowering broom trees, which are a true natural spectacle.
And as you will surely be hungry after this complete route through the Sierra de Gredos, there is nothing like enjoying a gastronomic stroll through the characteristic flavours of the area.
Its cuisine is very similar to the typical cuisine of Avila, with dishes such as migas (fried breadcrumbs) or patatas revolconas, mashed potatoes with fried pork rashes, that will give you the energy boost you need after a day in the Sierra de Gredos.
A good T-bone steak and a home-brewed beer from the Sierra de Gredos can be a good start to enjoy a day of rural tourism in the area.
