Climb through the Abantos pine forest to the Malagón pass

The mountain behind the monastery. The council route starts at the top of the town, next to the Romeral dam, and climbs through pine woods, springs and old water channels to the resting place and pass of San Juan de Malagón, at 1,537 metres, following stretches of the Cañada Real Leonesa (a royal drovers' road). It returns as a loop via Los Llanillos. It is about 9.5 km of moderate difficulty.

The climb

You start at the highest, westernmost part of the town, following at first the signs for the Euroforum Felipe II, as far as calle de la Presa and the wall of the Romeral dam. There a narrow path begins up to the Casa Rústica viewpoint, above the reservoir. The wall of the modern dam is attributed to Juan de Villanueva, in the time of Charles III; some remains of Philip II's original dam survive.

The path continues among Corsican pines and cedars, alongside the remains of the Gran Cerca Real, which marked the limits of the Crown's properties, and in several stretches coincides with the GR-10, waymarked in red and white. It passes the forest park at the fuente de la Teja, from 1929, and the fuente de la Currutaca, where in 1892 the Escuela Especial de Ingenieros de Montes began reforesting the mountain. Higher up there are oaks, maples, limes and horse chestnuts, and you reach the Cordel del Valle, a branch of the drovers' road. After the Gallegos nursery and the fuente de la Concha, with two large Spanish firs, you pass the Luis Ceballos Arboretum.

At the top and the return

At the pass, the resting place is an open area of broom from which you can see the Tobar reservoir, the Sierra de la Paramera and, on clear days, the Sierra de Gredos as far as La Galana and Almanzor. The return goes down the road to the Los Llanillos track, with a centuries-old elm more than 23 metres tall next to the spring, and descends by a zigzag path they call "las zetas" or "las siete revueltas" (the seven bends) until it joins the track back to the start. Watch out: the path that leaves the Los Llanillos track is poorly marked.

What you need to know

• Distance: about 9.5 km as a loop.
• Difficulty: moderate, almost all uphill on the way out.
• Time: the council website estimates 2.2 hours; with stops and the climb, allow more.
• Season: spring and autumn; in winter there may be snow at the top.

Take water, mountain footwear and a warm layer: at the pass it is much colder than at the Lonja. Dogs must be on a lead because there is livestock on the drovers' road. The tourist office gives out maps of the route.

To eat or sleep nearby

On the way down you have the Horizontal restaurant within reach, on the Abantos mountain road. If you want to sleep at the foot of the mountain, Camping El Escorial is on the slopes of Abantos.