Cascacada El Purgatorio - El Purgatorio Waterfalls - Rafrascia - Madrid - Spain

Ruta muy conocida, muy concurrida los fines de semana sobre todo si hace buen tiempo. Es mejor elegir días lluviosos o entre semana para no caminar entre la multitud. De todos modos el valle es tan hermoso, vimos ciervos y muchas vacas en este viaje. Hoy el cielo estaba cubierto de nubes y un clima casi lluvioso. Aparcar no es fácil debido a la gran cantidad de personas en Rafrascia. Tuvimos suerte de encontrar un buen lugar vacío para el coche.
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Very well known route , busy at weekends especially if weather is good. Better to choice rainy days or weekdays to not walk in crowd. Anyway valley is so beautiful , we saw deers and many cows on this trip. Today sky was cloud covered and almost rainy weather. Parking is not easy due mass amount of people in Rafrascia. We were lucky we found a good empty spot for the car.

Discover with us the Region of Madrid through different routes. This week, we are going to the town of Rascafría, to explore an emblematic route of low difficulty, in which, starting from the Monastery of El Paular, we will reach the spectacular Purgatorio Cascade.

In the heart of the Lozoya Valley, at the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama, next to the summits and lakes of Peñalara, is the village of Rascafría, a beautiful mountain village that we recommend you to visit if you have not had the opportunity to do so yet.

Along with the beauty of its historical heritage, this municipality of Madrid invites visitors to get lost in its many routes, to be in touch with nature while discovering the attractiveness of its surroundings.

On this occasion, we will go to the Monastery of Santa María de El Paular which, built in 1930, will be our starting point for the itinerary that will take us to 'El Purgatorio', following part of the historic 'Camino de Madrid'.

We are moving towards the Puente del Perdón towards the Recreational Area of Las Presillas, with river pools in the Lozoya River, here called Angostura. Just stop for a second, and enjoy this area full of oak groves, in which the cattle also graze.

Then we will arrive at a pine grove that will culminate in the Aguilón River and which gives the area a great natural and scenic richness. We circulate along the right bank of the stream until we reach the two Cascades of Purgatorio in the valley enclosure, on one side the upper one, which falls in the form of a ponytail to a crystalline pool, and on the other the upper one from which we can observe the two main waterfalls.

As it is a circular route, all we have to do is take the way back, recreating ourselves with the splendour of the area, and even make a stop to take some pictures.

Of course, before starting the route, we recommend you check the weather forecast, bring the appropriate clothes and footwear, as well as some food. Don't forget your camera!
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