Sierra de Guadarrama

The Sierra de Guadarrama National Park is located in the eastern sector of the Central System, extending across the Guadarrama mountain range and spanning the autonomous communities of Madrid and Castilla y León.

It is a park characteristic of high-altitude zones, ranging between 900 and 2,428 m a.s.l. Most of its area is occupied by high summits dominated by rocky outcrops, as well as high-mountain grasslands and shrublands such as piornales. These habitats support a unique community of bird species which, being restricted to these environments, serve as a major attraction for visitors.

Glacial and periglacial landforms are also noteworthy, along with high-mountain lagoons and wetlands. Forest masses are highly significant, with an important presence of Pinus sylvestris pine forests, and—to a lesser extent—a diversity of natural systems on slopes, ravines, and valleys at lower elevations, including oak and gall oak woodlands, juniper woodlands, holm oak forests, gallery forests, and patches of birch, holly, yew, and other vegetation formations.

In this atlas, nearly 100 bird species showing clear breeding behavior have been recorded, representing around 30% of all species that breed in Spain. Notable species breeding within the park’s boundaries include emblematic birds such as the cinereous vulture and the Spanish imperial eagle, along with alpine or montane species such as the red-billed chough, the rufous-tailed rock thrush, the water pipit, the bluethroat, and the citril finch.