La Maliciosa

Overview

La Maliciosa is placed at the Sierra de Guadarrama, in the spanish province of Madrid. It’s one of the southernmost peaks in the Sierra, overlooking directly the province of Madrid and in plain sight of the Bola del Mundo and the Cuerda Larga (a ridge starting at the Puerto de Navacerrada and including summits such as Bola del Mundo, cerro de Valdemartín, Cabeza de Hierro Mayor, Cabeza de Hierro Menor and Najarra). It’s not one of the highest summits but nevertheless climbs clearly over 2000 meters and offers a wonderful panorama. The hardest routes are those climbing from the south face (starting at the villages of Navacerrada or Mataelpino), but there is also a hiking route from the Puerto de Navacerrada (a mountain pass placed 1860 meters above sea level which is also the trailhead for Bola del Mundo, Siete Picos and other summits around the area)

Getting There

As I said before, there are two main trailheads for La Maliciosa: the Puerto de Navacerrada and the village of Navacerrada. Both can be reached quite easily from Madrid.

By car:Puerto de Navacerrada is 64 km away from Madrid, driving northwest, and Navacerrada village is 7 km before the mountain pass on the very same road. The best driving option is to take the A6 motorway for 43 km, up to exit 39 (signposted as “Villalba/Puerto de Navacerrada”). Leave the motorway and take road M-601 (grossly northwards) to Navacerrada (about 13 km to go) and Puerto de Navacerrada (20 km).
Another option would be the M-607 highway to Colmenar Viejo, continuing afterwards to Cerceda and Navacerrada to enter there road M-601 to Puerto de Navacerrada. This second option offers a better landscape and might be helpful in case of heavy traffic congestion in the A6. If you are coming from the north, drive to Segovia and take road CL-601 towards La Granja and Puerto de Navacerrada. If you choose to start from the village of Navacerrada, leave your car at the parking area of La Barranca (1365 m).

The latest news from the area state that the parking lot of the Puerto de Navacerrada will no longer be free from this winter on. The company that runs the ski resort is planning to charge 9 euros/day for a car in high season (I guess that means "skiing season") and 7 euros/day in low season

By train:The puerto de Navacerrada is also reached by an old mountain train departing from Cercedilla. If you choose this option, you would have to take a train to Cercedilla (line C-8b) at Atocha Railway Station (Madrid) and connect to the trains to Puerto de Navacerrada.

By bus:
Buses to Cercedilla can be caught (lines 684 and 684A) at the Moncloa underground station (Madrid), allowing for connections with the Puerto de Navacerrada as they stop by the railway station when they reach Cercedilla. There are also buses to Puerto de Navacerrada (line 691) leaving from Moncloa.

By plane:The closest major airport stands at Madrid-Barajas.

Red Tape

La Maliciosa stands within a Regional Natural Park (Parque Regional de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares), and therefore all logical precautions when going out to the mountains should be applied with a special care. For instance, camping is strictly forbidden. I’ve heard about a possible declaration of the whole sierra de Guadarrama as a National Park, but nowadays (August 2007) I don’t have any kind of confirmation about that. Nevertheless, I will post any additional information on the subject as soon as I get it.
About equipment, the normal route from Puerto de Navacerrada is not difficult. Good boots, hiking poles, water and some food should suffice for a summer walk on that one. Whenever the weather prediction is not good, it will be better to err on the safe side: take warm clothes, as good an equipment as you can get. Winter climbs are always a serious concern and should NOT be attempted by unexperienced hikers. There have been cases of people being rescued in the nearby summit of the Bola del Mundo, after suffering extreme weather conditions

Camping and Huts

As stated before, camping is officially forbidden in the whole province of Madrid. Not that it’s really necessary, though, as La Maliciosa can be climbed usually in a single day.
There’s availability of lodging both at the Puerto de Navacerrada, at the Puerto de Cotos (a little bit apart from La Maliciosa, on the southern slopes of Peñalara) and at Navacerrada itself. Check the external links section for a couple of ideas on this particular subject.

External Links

Parque Regional de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares

Autobuses Larrea
(spanish language info on the bus connections to Cercedilla and Navacerrada)

Mountain Hostel-Hut "Puerto de Navacerrada"
(spanish language info and contact data)

Albergue de Cotos(Puerto de Cotos)
(short spanish info and contact phone)

Weather predictions for the area of Guadarrama and Somosierra (spanish language)- Contributed by Diego Sahagún

Additions and CorrectionsPost an Addition or Correction

Images

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