40.35° N · 5.17° W
The Plataforma to Laguna Grande route, the Cuevas del Águila, Arenas de San Pedro and horse rides, an hour from Ávila and two from Madrid.
Part of The Central SystemHorse riding routes in Spain
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Walk · 5 h · 13.6 km there and back · The classic Gredos trail, via Los Barrerones at 2,178 m, to the lake at the foot of Almanzor and the Elola refuge.
Cave · 40 min · €12 · A kilometre of galleries with stalactites and coloured flowstone at 17 °C, in Ramacastañas, next to Arenas de San Pedro; open every day.
Visit · 45 min · €3 · The 15th-century castle of Constable Dávalos, in the centre of Arenas de San Pedro, with guided tours.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From May to October for the Laguna Grande; June and September are the best months. In winter the cirque has snow and ice, and the south face, Arenas and the Cuevas del Águila, remains a good plan.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Gredos has two faces and a single road joins them, the N-502 over the Puerto del Pico. The north, Hoyos del Espino and the Plataforma, is reached from Ávila by the N-110 and the N-502; the south, Arenas de San Pedro and the Cuevas del Águila, from Madrid by the A-5 and Talavera. Between one and the other there is nearly an hour of bends.
Gredos is walking country. The Laguna Grande from the Plataforma is the classic route, five hours there and back; from the lake continue the climbs up Almanzor and the crossings of the cirque, only for experienced mountaineers. On the south face, the Puerto del Pico road climbs from Cuevas del Valle.
There are campsites on both sides of the sierra: in the Navarredonda pine wood, beside the Tormes, for the north face and the Laguna Grande, and in Guisando for the south face. The one at Navarredonda closes from October to February.
With a motorhome, sleep at a campsite and go up to the Plataforma early: in summer and at weekends access is regulated with a barrier at kilometre 7 and the car park fills up.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
With children, Gredos divides between the cave, the castle and the horses of the south and north faces, and the Laguna Grande for those who already walk well.
Gredos is a good first taste of high mountains: a pass at 2,178 m, a glacial lake, ibex that come close and a real refuge.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Small hotel with a Michelin-recommended restaurant in Hoyos del Espino, facing the sierra, with doubles, junior suites and suites, and picnics for the walk.
Why we like it: Rural hotel run by Gredos a Caballo in Hoyos del Espino, simple and warm, with a double room and breakfast from €70 and packages with horse rides.
Why we like it: Campsite in the Navarredonda de Gredos pine wood, near the source of the Tormes and the Valdeascas pools; open March to September and dogs accepted.
Why we like it: Renovated campsite among pines in Guisando, on the south face of Gredos, with bungalows, cabins and pitches for tents and motorhomes.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: patatas revolconas with La Vera paprika and torreznos, El Barco beans with their sacramentos, and Ávila beef.
What to order: at midday, patatas revolconas and Ávila veal chuletón; in the afternoon, a stone-oven pizza.
What to order: the menu of the day: €16.50 on weekdays and €20.50 at the weekend.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
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40.20° N · 5.81° W
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Tips
In summer and at weekends access is regulated by a barrier. Early on there is room and there is no sun on the climb.
At the Barrerones pass, at 2,178 m, it is windy and cold almost all year.
In the low season many restaurants in the sierra open only from Thursday or Friday to Sunday.
Going and coming back over the Puerto del Pico in a day is a lot of driving.
If you have only one day and are going with small children, do the south face: the Cuevas del Águila, Arenas castle and lunch in the valley.
The Sierra de Gredos is the great granite massif of southern Ávila and the roof of the Sistema Central: Almanzor tops 2,500 metres. For a traveller it has two very different faces. The north, that of the Tormes valley, is high and cold, of pine woods and broom scrub, with Hoyos del Espino as the base village and the road that climbs to the Plataforma, from where the sierra's best-known route starts: that to the Laguna Grande, at the foot of the glacial cirque. The south, that of the Tiétar valley, looks towards Toledo and Extremadura; it is milder, of chestnut trees, fig trees and gorges, with Arenas de San Pedro, its castle and the Cuevas del Águila. The N-502 joins them over the Puerto del Pico.
To the north face, along the A-6 and the AP-51 to Ávila, and then along the N-110 and the N-502 towards Arenas de San Pedro until you turn off along the AV-941 towards Hoyos del Espino: Paradores calculates 170 km from Madrid to Navarredonda de Gredos, about two hours. To the south face, along the A-5 to Talavera de la Reina and the N-502 to Ramacastañas: the Cuevas del Águila are about 170 km and around an hour and a half or a little more. From Ávila, the north face is about 60 km away, an hour, and from Toledo, the south face is less than two hours via Talavera. Without a car, Gredos is not practical: the scheduled buses do not reach the Plataforma.
At the Plataforma, at the end of the road that climbs from Hoyos del Espino. In July, August, the first week of September and at weekends all year round, access by car is regulated from kilometre 7, with a barrier and ticket office, and the car park fills early: arrive before nine. In Arenas de San Pedro, leave the car on the outskirts and walk to the castle, which is in the centre.
The Laguna Grande is a day: five hours' walking there and back plus the journey. If you come from Madrid in the day, it is the only thing you will do, and it is enough. With a night, add a horse ride through the Tormes valley or the Aguas de Gredos spa for your legs. With two nights you can cross the Puerto del Pico and devote a day to the south face: the cobbled road from Cuevas del Valle, the Cuevas del Águila and the castle of Arenas de San Pedro.
The Laguna Grande route is from May to October. June brings snow on the peaks and water in the streams; September and October, fewer people and good light. In July and August there are many people and access is regulated. From November to April the cirque has snow and ice and the route calls for crampons, an ice axe and experience. In winter, the south face is the alternative: Arenas is milder and the cave is at 17 °C all year. Bear in mind that the Parador de Gredos, in Navarredonda, is closed for works from October 2026 until June 2028.
The sierra is a land of Ávila beef, with a geographical indication, and of El Barco beans. Ask for patatas revolconas with Vera paprika and pork scratchings, and for chargrilled meat.
Questions
About two hours by car to the Plataforma and two and a half hours on foot to the lagoon.
Moderate: 13.6 km there and back, about five hours and 741 m of cumulative ascent on a stone path.
In summer and at weekends access is regulated with a barrier and ticket office at kilometre 7. Check the fee on arrival.
€12 for adults and €8 for children aged 6 to 10; under-5s, free.
Yes, but it is demanding for the dog, and there are livestock and mules on the path.
The south face: Cuevas del Águila, Arenas de San Pedro and the Puerto del Pico road. And the Aguas de Gredos spa.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castile-and-leon/sierra-de-gredos
