The best walks and hikes around Valdaracete

The Las Aguaderas viewpoint is located at a crossroads, taking advantage of a rise in the terrain. It features a pergola, a bench, and an interpretive panel dedicated to the "Las Aguaderas Area," a new section focusing on local customs linked to water and agriculture. The trail turns right and climbs the farm track that descends from the plateau. The initial steep section is impressive, but the climb only lasts a few minutes. The track reaches the edge of the plateau and continues through olive groves, holm oaks, and barren hills to the Camino de los Moledores (Wheelers' Path). The hiking route turns left, and now a steep descent to the valley floor begins.

The walk along the hillside is fantastic, a true flight over the meadows, villages, and rural landscapes of the Tajuña River valley. The path runs along the mountainside and passes by the Fuente del Arce (Maple Spring), another of Tielmes' historic springs. It's located at the bottom of a ravine, with a stone wall and a spout with a small basin that is usually dry in summer. Nearby is the Fuente del Sacristán (Sacristan's Spring), somewhat hidden. Shortly after, the bench at the Mirador Vega del Tajuña (Tajuña Valley Viewpoint) appears in a clearing along the path, offering views of Tielmes, the meadow, and the hamlet of Valdilecha at the bottom of the Vega stream valley. The trail continues along the same path and begins the descent to the next viewpoint.

The sign marking the start of the Tielmes Viewpoints Route is at the junction of the San Isidro Hermitage and the Tajuña Greenway. The first kilometer of the climb is quite steep along a well-maintained rural track. The first viewpoint is nearby; it's called the "Most Beautiful Bench," and it features an interpretive lectern and a bench with the words "Tielmes Is Heart" emblazoned on the back. It faces the town of Tielmes and the Tajuña River valley, making for a pleasant stop after the initial climb. The viewpoint's information panel offers a description of the views entitled "A Landscape Shaped by Water," providing an introduction to the culture of water, the fertile plains, and the orchards of the Las Vegas region of Madrid. The route continues uphill along the Camino del Llano de las Cabras (Goat Plain Path), offering spectacular panoramic views. At the edge of the plateau, at the top of the steep climb, the main path continues straight ahead, while the Viewpoints Route veers off to the left.

The Bosque de Perales is an extraordinary forest mass of holm oak, juniper, kermes oak, hawthorn, sage, thyme, lavender and the rest of the flora and scrub of the Mediterranean mountain range between the rural moorland of La Mesa and the Tajuña river plain. There are hardly any crops in the Bosque, it is a fairly naturalised forested hillside that serves as a refuge for fauna and preserves valuable botanical and forest ecosystems.

Perales de Tajuña is strategically located in the Tajuña valley, a passage for ancient Roman roads, pastoral paths and medieval paths that have attracted the interest of all the cultures that have inhabited the southeast of the province of Madrid since the Iberians. The Romans and the Arabs were the main creators of the network of dams and weirs that are still essential in the distribution of irrigation water in the Tajuña orchards. The town has streets that maintain the medieval layout on the side of the valley, they are narrow, stepped and steep, connected by ramps and steps. In the Plaza de la Constitución is the Town Hall, built in the time of Charles III in the old Council House. And nearby is the monumental Baroque style Mariblanca Fountain, called the Ball Game by the local population.

The caves of the primitive Carpetanian settlement of Caraca are a window in time, from the first Carpetanian inhabitants to the present day, representing the different cultures that have populated the Tajuña valley over time. The current state shows the deterioration typical of a hillside made of marl and gypsum that is brittle and easily eroded. In the time of the Carpetanians, it was a troglodyte settlement with interior passages that connected different galleries, had water channels, warehouses and houses protected from intruders at a certain height from the ground, accessed by ladders and ropes. In the middle of the last century, the Risco de las Cuevas was the setting for several films.

Perales de Tajuña is strategically located in the Tajuña valley, a passage for ancient Roman roads, pastoral paths and medieval paths that have attracted the interest of all the cultures that have inhabited the southeast of the province of Madrid since the Iberians. The Romans and the Arabs were the main creators of the network of dams and weirs that are still essential in the distribution of irrigation water in the Tajuña orchards. The town has streets that maintain the medieval layout on the side of the valley, they are narrow, stepped and steep, connected by ramps and steps. In the Plaza de la Constitución is the Town Hall, built in the time of Charles III in the old Council House. And nearby is the monumental Baroque style Mariblanca Fountain, called the Ball Game by the local population.

The Fuente del Arce is another of the historic springs in Tielmes. It is halfway up the hill and has good views of the Tajuña valley. The fountain has a stone wall and a spout with a small basin that does not usually have water all year round. Nearby is the Fuente del Sacristán, somewhat hidden, and then the descent towards Tielmes along the steep slope of the famous “Tielmes es corazón” bank.