Canencia – El Hontanar watershed

Community of Madrid

Ferran Pérez

09/15/2019

Canencia – El Hontanar watershed

We started from the town of Canencia and more specifically from the Cerradas area where there is a parking space between cattle ranches. That same track is already the PR-28, although following the same path one could have left from the center of the town of Canencia.

We climbed the track between livestock and following the PR-28 to the Cancho Negro Surveillance Booth. North vertex of the watershed of El Hontanar. From this point we begin to see the Pinilla Reservoir of the Lozoya River. From this point we begin to travel the entire length of the Hontanar watershed. Passing in the first place the Cachiporrila of 1,620 meters above sea level in the Cerro de la Llanada.

We follow the rope in a southwest direction through the low but beautiful Sierra de El Hontanar that separates the source of the Lozoya and Arroyo de Canencia waters. And that until this is not over does not allow the union of both rivers.

Rope ahead, walk us between pastures and some small hills down to Portachuelo where the fountain of El Hontanar is. Just before climbing the rocks of Cerro del Águila. Where we stop to eat the sandwich contemplating the Pinilla Reservoir and the immensity of the mountains, livestock and raptor flights.

We continue going down to the Collado de las Fuentes and stretch it almost to El Espartal of 1,733 masl. but without reaching him. We cross fencing that separates farms and livestock and we go back in parallel through the mountains to the Collado de las Fuentes and from here we go to Portachuelo, but this time we do it on the east side of Cerro del Águila. We save the climb and see remains of buildings now in ruins, but the path is quite covered.

From the Portachuelo we already started the descent between the cattle ranches of the Zone of El Cuartel, where on its way out we already take a track through the Botrayuno until we finally take a detour to the left to our starting point.

Easy route to follow and make through this unknown Hontanar Mountains, which is coming from livestock farms. Your prize? The views of the Pinilla Reservoir of the Lozoya River and the possibility of visual recognition of the mythical peaks of the Sierra de Guadarrama due to its central location.