Circo de Peñalara, Glacial cirque in Sierra de Guadarrama, Spain
Circo de Peñalara is a glacial cirque inside the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park in Spain, sitting at around 7,875 feet (2,400 meters) above sea level. It forms a granite basin with steep walls, several small mountain lakes, moraine fields, and open meadows scattered among the rocks.
The cirque was shaped during the last ice age, when glacial ice slowly carved into the granite and formed the basin visible today. When the ice melted, it left behind the lakes, moraines, and the broad U-shaped profile that still defines the valley floor.
The name Peñalara refers to the highest peak in the Guadarrama range, which towers above the cirque and is visible from most of the surrounding trails. People from Madrid have come here for generations, and the site is one of the few places in the region where a true high-mountain landscape is within easy reach of the capital.
The most common starting point is Puerto de Cotos, where marked trails lead directly toward Laguna Grande and into the cirque. The terrain is steep and the weather can change fast, so solid footwear and layers suited to mountain conditions are worth bringing.
Laguna Grande, the largest lake in the cirque, is the only known location of a Pyrenean newt population in the entire Sierra de Guadarrama. The cold water of the lakes provides conditions for this amphibian that are nearly impossible to find elsewhere on the Iberian Peninsula at this elevation.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
