I was recently been watching the world alpine ski championship from Cortina, Italy and remind me of my try of skiing while living in my dear Madrid. The closest mountain was Navacerrada, the craddle of Spanish skiing that gave the country its Olympic medal. I like to update this memorable post for you and I. Therefore, here is my take on the Puerto de Navacerrada !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
Ok another nostalgic moment that was able to see again last summer. Well, this is the beginning of the end ; many years ago circa 1972, I was living in Madrid, and friends convince me to go skiing in the mountains. I am a beach bum boy and always been; so curiosity took me there. It was of course the fabled Navacerrada and I put my skis; well I never had so many summersaults in my life coming down the mountain, lucky was not hurt and therefore, ended my career as a skier….lol! However, the memories still lingered and had gone up just to see an after ski day or just enjoying the natural beauty of the place, and of course driving around those mountain peaks. Navacerrada will always remained close to my heart. My dear late wife Martine took a nostalgic trip with me in 2017 and really enjoyed it, unfortunately was her last due to the bad mean cancer. Memories forever.
Navacerrada (the town) is in the Comunidad de Madrid at 1200 meters high on the shoulders of the Sierra de Guadarrama on the Navacerrada dam and the entrance to the Valley of Barranca. The town is located at 52 km from Madrid. Every Sunday there is a market of antiques in the Avenida de Madrid. On the first Sunday of the month there is a expo of old collectible automobiles as well as a medieval market with a very festive ambiance.
The Puerto de Navacerrada has a popular ski resort that is very popular with winter sportspeople. It has a ski school and various restaurants, hotels and accommodation , The ski station has an altitude cafeteria, located on the heights of Guarramillas, at an altitude of 2179 meters. From the terrace, you will enjoy an exceptional panorama on the central system and the emblematic peaks of one of the most preserved enclaves in Spain. You can make a little stop at the La Bola bar, an atypical and charming place of charm where you will appreciate the panorama from the highest terrace in the Comunidad de Madrid region. There is a ski school there for info, The Navacerrada ski school has more than 50 years old in winter sports teaching. The ski school building is located in the heart of the Puerto de Navacerrada station, on the road N-601, just 150 meters from the slopes. During the 97/98 season, the Madrid winter sports federation founded the Madrid ski school. Our course information and booking office is located inside the Castillas Dos building.This is right on the road CL 601 right across you have a big parking Puerto de Navacerrada, Finally, you have the Daktak School is a school created exclusively for initiation, improvement and snowboarding tech. Installed on the Puerto de Navacerrada station since 2012.
You have an excellent time skiing here , the best in Madrid in my opinion. The closest station to Madrid at 1858 meters high. It is well divided in two zones; a high zone with average trails to advance and a lower zone with average trails and beginners. They are well protected along pine trees. The north ladder or ¡Segovian is part of the town of Real Sitio de San Ildefonso , and the south ladder or Madrilene belongs to the town of Cercedilla. . From here you can use as a base to visit La Granja de San Ildefonso (see post) , Segovia (see posts), San Lorenzo de El Escorial (see post), Rascafria , Fuenfria and others.
A bit of history I like tell us that the Sierra de Guadarrama, located just 45 minutes from Madrid, is a mountainous region endowed with great natural, ecological and geological richness, a large part of its territory is included in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, There were a project to open the port was done in 1778 and opened to the public in 1788 under the reign of king Carlos IV . The first ski club was founded in 1903 The late 1940s gave birth to one of the first Spanish ski resorts: the Puerto de Navacerrada station. October 9, 1954, the company “Transports Aereos del Guadarrama, S.A.” (Tagsa) is created. In 1955, it installed the first Guarramillas chairlift. The country’s first snow production system was tested here in 1960. From the 1950s, the influx of tourists was massive, reaching its peak in the years 60 and 70. And this was my time here in the early 70’s; my first encounter with snow, read on. After some turbulant periods and changes of ownership it finally came heads upt, In 1994, a growing snow production system was installed and 2 new ski lifts were inaugurated, replacing existing installations. Finally, in 1998, the Guarramillas disengageable chairlift was inaugurated with a capacity of 2400 people/hour Since 1992, it is privately managed by the firm of Deporte y Montaña de la Comunidad de Madrid SA.
The best way to come here is of course by car, I took it from Madrid, via the A-6 route to the Villalba Collado (Km. 40), take the deviation M-601 road Madrid – Segovia to the Puerto de Navacerrada. Last time coming to Madrid ,came from Segovia via the route CL-601 by Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, and follow panels to Puerto de Navacerrada. From the town of Navacerrada, there is the road CL 604 that connects with the towns in the Valley of Lozoya passing by the Puerto de Cotos. The last segment from the south passes at the intersection of roads M 601 and M 607 at 1300 meters altitude and goes up 560 meters at a inclination of 8%. You can, also, come to Navacerrada by bus from the Moncloa interchange in Madrid on bus 691 passing by Becerril de la Sierra and Navacerrada, It has a train station which from Madrid go to Chamartin train station and take the Cercanías C8b until Cercedilla , then the Cercanias C9 train until the Puerto de Navacerrada.
Some good eating places in Puerto de Navacerrada and the town are Asador Espinosa, restaurante Casa Paco, and La Fonda Real, that I can recommend from the many in the area.
The town of Navacerrada on its heritage : https://www.aytonavacerrada.org/turismo-en-navacerrada-2/
The official Puerto de Navacerrada ski station: https://puertonavacerrada.com/en/
The Skiinfo specialise site on the Puerto de Navacerrada ski station: https://www.onthesnow.co.uk/sistema-central/puerto-de-navacerrada/skireport
Weather conditions especially snow by Infonieve in Navacerrada and webcams: https://www.infonieve.es/estacion-esqui/puerto-de-navacerrada/webcams/
There you go folks, this is a short introductory post on Navacerrada. A spot of memories in my heart never to be forgotten and looking forward to be back, and did and will eventually. Again , hope you enjoy this post on the Puerto de Navacerrada !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 