Upper Manzanares River Basin Biosphere Reserve

In the northwest of the Community of Madrid lies the Upper Manzanares River Basin Regional Park, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1992. Altitudes ranging from 600 to 2,300 metres create a landscape of peaks, low mountains and plains, home to a multitude of Mediterranean species.

The corridor that connects the urban centre of Madrid with the Sierra de Guadarrama has incalculable natural value, thanks to the river that runs through it. The Upper Manzanares Basin has granite peaks such as La Pedriza, a place populated by griffon vultures and peregrine falcons. This rugged profile softens in the Sierra del Hoyo del Manzanares, giving rise to holm oak groves, oak groves and ash groves. These forests are interspersed with pastureland used for livestock, creating meadows ideal for fallow deer and red deer. In the lower reaches, such as the Santillana Reservoir and Soto de Viñuelas areas, water-related grasslands increase and there are significant communities of aquatic birds. This creates what are known as agrosilvopastoral systems (meadows, pastures and grasslands), which are important for environmental conservation. In the area closest to the Manzanares riverbed, there are tree-lined galleries formed by willows, poplars, ash trees and birch trees. Among the shrubs, blackberries, wild roses and honeysuckle stand out. Accompanying the deer and fallow deer in the Upper Manzanares Basin are badgers, wild cats, otters and wild boars.