Bustarviejo: Hiking Routes, Mining History and Cultural Heritage
Accommodation in Bustarviejo
When planning a stay in Bustarviejo, you can choose excursions by scenery, history and route length. Alongside routes through the surrounding area, medieval church art, mining history and local festival traditions are among the town’s highlights. If you’re looking for hotels for a trip to Bustarviejo, these different themes can help you organise your interests for your stay.
Choose routes by length and theme
The Entre Pozas y Huertos circular route is 2.8 kilometres long, with 78 metres of elevation gain. It passes the Grande, Chica and del Prado Mayor pools, as well as irrigation channels known as caceras. The predominant ecosystem along the route is a riverside woodland of oaks, blackthorns, plum trees, willows and brambles. The pools, channels and plant life give this route a distinctive scenic focus.
A longer circular route is Ascensión al Pico Mondalindo: it starts and ends in Bustarviejo, is 12 kilometres long and follows old mining paths. Along the way, it passes the historic silver mines of Cuesta de la Plata. The Mondalindo y Peña Negra route, meanwhile, offers views of the Sierra de Guadarrama, the Sierra de Ayllón, the Sierra de la Cabrera and the Madrid region. When choosing between the routes, you can take into account both their stated lengths and their described landscape and historical themes.
The route between Bustarviejo and Manzanares El Real follows the historic course of the Cañada Real Segoviana for 25.6 kilometres. Thanks to public transport links in municipalities such as Miraflores de la Sierra and Soto del Real, it can be completed in stages. This offers a different way to plan than the Entre Pozas y Huertos circular route or the Ascensión al Pico Mondalindo circular route: the focus here is a longer connection between two towns.
The Destacamento Penal y Viaducto route leads to Dehesa Vieja. It also commemorates a forced-labour camp where political prisoners who had defended the Republic worked in harsh conditions on the Madrid–Burgos railway line. Landscape and history meet along the same route here.
Church art and historic buildings
From a historical and artistic perspective, the Iglesia de la PurĂsima ConcepciĂłn is considered the most outstanding building in Bustarviejo’s cultural heritage. Its square tower dates from the late 15th or early 16th century. Archaeological work at the church uncovered a medieval necropolis carved into the rock, an anthropomorphic sarcophagus and 14th-century wall paintings. Fragments of medieval wall painting in the linear Gothic style, depicting a military theme, are considered the only surviving example of their kind in the Comunidad de Madrid.
La Torre del Indiano is also part of the town’s architectural history. It was built in the 17th century and designated a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1983. Its date is notably different from the medieval finds at the church, adding another chapter to the local cultural heritage.
Local mining history
The Mina de Plata de Bustarviejo was mined until the end of the 19th century. During a visit, you can choose between accessing the mine, with remains of 20th-century exploration work, and visiting the upper shafts. At the shafts, there are arsenopyrite outcrops and views of the Sierra de Guadarrama. Information panels outside the Mina explain the different elements of the mining and industrial complex. This offers a way to explore the mining history through both the surviving remains and the signs.
Festivals and local traditions
The traditional San Isidro festival brings together a procession, traditional rosquillas, paella, music and activities for children and young people. As part of the Feria del Campo, Bustarviejo’s village square is transformed into an improvised farm with sheep, cows, chickens, horses and pigs. The two festivals offer different insights: San Isidro combines a procession with community activities, while the Feria del Campo puts animals and rural themes in the spotlight.
Discover more destinations: Belmonte De Tajo, San MartĂn De La Vega, Villaviciosa De OdĂłn, La Cabrera, Valdilecha, Somosaguas, Arganda Del Rey, RascafrĂa.
Return to the main travel overview: Madrid.
