Laguna Grande de Peñalara via the Zabala area

The short route in the Peñalara massif, the PNSG-033 "Zona del Zabala", leaves the Los Cotos pass and climbs to the Zabala refuge, inside the glacial cirque and above the Laguna Grande de Peñalara. It is 4.7 km there and back, with 279 m of cumulative ascent and 1 h 45, and the National Park classifies it for beginner walkers. It is the simplest way to see up close the best-preserved glacial remains in the Sierra de Guadarrama.

The route

You set out from the Peñalara Visitor Centre or the Cotos car park along a forest track with a gentle climb, leaving the Gitana viewpoint and the Depósito shelter on your right. The natural Scots pine forest gradually gives way to scrub, mat-grass and high-mountain pasture. After a couple of bends the track forks: you keep straight on and climb in zigzags up a steep slope to the 2,100 m junction. There you take the right-hand branch and, about 700 metres later, you reach the Zabala refuge area, with views of the glacial cirque and the Laguna Grande. You return by the same way.

The highest point is at 2,083 metres and the average gradient is around 12%. On the MIDE scale, the Park gives it a 2 out of 5 for severity, travel and effort, and a 1 for orientation. In June the broom flowers, tinting the slopes yellow.

Rules of the massif

The cirque and its lakes are fragile ecosystems, and Peñalara has its own rules:

• You must not go into the water, neither the lake nor any stream or pool, not even with dogs: it harms the amphibians.
• You must not leave the marked paths, and you must not pick plants, mushrooms, flowers or stones.
• Dogs on a lead at all times.
• No camping. Bivouacking without a tent is only permitted next to the Zabala refuge, and never with dogs.

Quota, parking and winter

The massif admits 945 visitors a day; when it is full, no one else is let in until the next day. There is no online booking: at weekends it is advisable to phone the visitor centre beforehand, on 918 520 857, which opens every day from 8:00 to 18:00. The Cotos car park has 250 free spaces, open 24 hours, which at weekends and public holidays usually fill between 9:00 and 11:00, and earlier if there is snow. With snow and ice the route becomes more difficult: ask at the centre before going up.

With children who already walk, it is a good first mountain route; the zigzag section is the hardest.

Getting there

By car, take the A-1 to exit 69 and the M-604 to the Los Cotos pass, or the AP-6, the M-601 to the Navacerrada pass and the SG-615. By bus, the 691 from Moncloa and, at weekends and public holidays, the 819 from Rascafría. The C9 Cercanías line has been closed for works since May 2024, with a replacement bus from Cercedilla. More at buses from Madrid and the Peñalara Visitor Centre.

What to combine

Anyone with more energy can continue to the summit on the climb to Peñalara peak, which shares the first stretch. On the way down to the valley, the El Paular monastery and, in summer, a swim at Las Presillas.