Refugio de la Fuenfría
The place
Historic refuge in the Fuenfría valley, municipality of Cercedilla (Madrid, Sierra de Guadarrama, at around 1200 m in the valley floor; DB gives 1326 m). Built by the Peñalara mountaineering society — the so-called “Los Doce Amigos” group — at the foot of the Puerto de la Fuenfría, on the Corralillos meadows, near the Arroyo Navazuela and the waterfall known as “Ducha de los Alemanes.” The original building had four levels. The site is mentioned as early as 1273 as one of the passes with lodging in the Sierra de Guadarrama. Today, the Chalet Peñalara is in ruins: Cercedilla town council began revoking the concession in the 1990s due to the building's abandonment. It remains a landmark of the sierra's mountaineering heritage.
Getting there
Valle de la Fuenfría, Cercedilla, Corralillos meadows.
The setting
Sierra de Guadarrama, Puerto de la Fuenfría, Arroyo Navazuela.
