The Central System I

When:

Where:

Middle

Specific place:

Spain: Guadalajara, Soria, Segovia, Madrid, and Ávila.

Length:

2 weeks

Level:

Demanding

IBP Index:

Type:

Bike Touring

Birding

Group min/máx:

4-8 people

Through the Paramera mountain range, in Ávila

This is the first part of our four-week route proposal: a long 1000 km journey, from Alcolea del Pinar (Guadalajara) to Coimbra (Portugal), on tracks and local roads through the entire Central System.

In this first section we rode to Barco de Ávila, a town with good communication and services. We will stay above 1000 m practically during the entire ride, we will visit Celtiberian ruins, primary beech forests, and Biosphere reserves.

Since 2017 the primary beech forests of Tejera Negra and Montejo, are World Heritage Sites.

The Sierra del Rincón, and the Cuenca Alta del río Manzanares are Biosphere Reserves.

The wetlands of the Peñalara massif are protected wetlands according to the RAMSAR Convention. In addition, this route runs through the Salado Valley and salt flats, the Altos de Barahona, the Sierra de Ayllón, the Lozoya river basin and Sierra Norte, the Campo Azálvaro-Pinares de Peguerinos, the Pinares del Bajo Alberche, and the Sierra de Gredos, sites classified as SCI (Site of Community Importance) and as SPA (Special Protection Area) within the Natura 2000 network. It also runs through the Pinar de Losana, the Guadarrama river basin, and the Sierra de la Paramera and Serrota, spaces cataloged as SCI.