Discover Valdeavero’s Natural Landscape and Built Heritage

Two themes can help guide your stay in Valdeavero: the ZEPA Estepas cerealistas de los ríos Jarama y Henares Special Protection Area for Birds and the municipality’s buildings. Churches, chapels, a palace, a bridge and former utilitarian structures tell different stories about architecture and local history. Nature trails and recurring festival days can also shape your travel plans.

Natural Landscape and Birdlife

The entire municipality of Valdeavero lies within the ZEPA. The protected area’s cereal-steppe landscape provides a habitat for populations of Montagu’s harrier, great bustard, European roller, lesser kestrel, black-bellied sandgrouse and little bustard. Sightings of individual species are seasonal and not guaranteed. The landscape also includes scrubland with Spanish broom, gorse and thyme. Wet meadows with tall grass form narrow strips along the banks of the Arroyo Camarmilla; the riparian woodlands consist of stands of willow, poplar and elm.

The natural areas have trails that can be explored on foot. Trail conditions may vary. Before setting out, also check the ZEPA’s applicable protection regulations. This lets you include the natural landscape in your plans while taking its special protected status into account.

Churches and Religious Art

The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción dates from the 16th century; its bell tower was rebuilt in the 19th century. In its Rosario Chapel, the wrought-iron grille and polychrome carving stand out. The church also houses devotional images of Santísimo Cristo del Sudor and Jesús Nazareno.

The Ermita de la Soledad is a rectangular 18th-century religious hermitage with a gabled roof. Inside is an image of the Virgen de la Soledad holding Christ’s dead body on her lap. The cemetery and the Chapel of Nuestra Señora del Carmen date from the 19th century and are located on Paseo de la Ermita beside the Ermita de la Soledad. The chapel is a small neo-Gothic building near the cemetery entrance. Check current access arrangements before visiting.

Palace, Bridge and Former Utilitarian Structures

The Palacio del Marqués de Campoflorido was built in the 18th century. Its façade portal bears a coat of arms; a gallery once connected the palace to the church. Valdeavero’s old dovecote also dates from the 18th century. The two-storey building is one of the few surviving structures of its kind in the Comunidad de Madrid.

Puente de la Zarza is a three-arched bridge on the M-119 between Valdeavero and Camarma de Esteruelas. It is made of limestone ashlar blocks joined with lime-and-sand mortar. The three arches are flattened round arches with internal barrel vaults made of clay tiles. No precise construction date is given; the arches’ shape and the different materials are therefore the main features to focus on.

The remains of the so-called Pinoche de la Cigüeña channelled water from the Arroyo Camarmilla to the Palacio del Marqués de Campoflorido. The Antiguo Lavadero is a former open-air washhouse that is no longer in use. It lies on the left bank of the Arroyo de la Morcuera, near the Fuente Vieja. From the road to Villanueva de la Torre, access is via Camino Viejo a Meco. The two stepped rectangular basins were used separately for soaping and rinsing. Check local conditions before visiting.

Festivals and Getting There

The annual festivals in honour of Santísimo Cristo del Sudor take place on 13 and 14 September. Religious events, along with entertainment, bullfighting-related and cultural activities, are held on the nearest weekend; the specific programme may vary.

Intercity bus route 251 connects Torrejón de Ardoz, Valdeavero and Alcalá de Henares. The regional route overview was updated on 3 August 2026. Check the current timetable before travelling.

Discover more destinations: Valdeolmos, Canencia, Ajalvir, Lozoya, Jardín De Serracines, Valdemorillo, El Molar, Estremera.

For the broader travel overview: Madrid.