The best traffic-free bike rides around San Lorenzo De El Escorial

After the rather steep climb from Apeadero de Zarzalejo, before reaching the town, we have the tranquility of the rest area where we can stop to catch our breath a little before tackling the Cruz Verde pass from this side, which is very gentle but it's there. Totally recommendable

The Monastery of El Escorial was built by King Philip II in the 16th century to commemorate a military victory and serve as a royal pantheon for the Habsburg dynasty. Designed by architects Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera, it is characterized by its sober, Renaissance style. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Monastery of El Escorial was built by King Philip II in the 16th century to commemorate a military victory and serve as a royal pantheon for the Habsburg dynasty. Designed by architects Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera, it is characterized by its sober, Renaissance style. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Quiet village with a fountain, all of these routes are highly recommended.

The monastery of El Escorial, also known as San Lorenzo del Escorial, is located in Spain, in the autonomous community of Madrid, in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. It was built by Philip II as a residence and pantheon of the kings of Spain; it was built between 1563 and 1584 to be a monastery and church, as well as a royal residence. In 1984 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. San Lorenzo de El Escorial is considered the eighth wonder of the world.

This church began to be built in the year of the discovery of America, in 1492, and was officially completed in 1619, although it was restored in the following centuries.

The bramble, the granite, the Segovia Aqueduct and the peaks of Las Machotas are the symbols of the shield of Zarzalejo, a beautiful mountain town in the Sierra Oeste of Madrid in a strategic passage of ancient Roman roads, mesteña ravines and mountain passes. In the streets of the town there is an abundance of berroqueña stone, pure and hard granite, extracted in the local quarries that supplied Philip II's workers with the construction material for the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, considered one of the architectural wonders. from the modern era, and also to many other monuments and buildings in the municipalities of the Sierra de Guadarrama and the province of Madrid. At the Fuente del Caño Viejo there is a monument dedicated to the local stonemasons. The picturesque hamlet of Zarzalejo is on the slopes of Las Machotas, two twin peaks of large blocks of granite piled up that have created curious shapes of knightly rocks and monoliths sculpted by the weather of the mountains. The mountainous nature of the excursion is evident, most of the itinerary can be considered mountainous. The route begins in the square and continues to the back of the church, where there is a stone milestone in a corner with the inscription k 0 of Fuente del Rey street. And precisely you have to follow Fuente del Rey street to the outskirts of Zarzalejo and continue the pastoral alley that goes up through the oak and chestnut forest. The path is part of the Ruta de la Silla de Felipe II and has markings from a variant of the GR-10 long-distance trail.

Town located at the foot of Las Machotas and the Cruz Verde port, in the vicinity of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. From the quarry located there, the granite used to build the monastery of the town located on the other side of Pico del Fraile was extracted.