Camping in Segovia: Roman aqueduct, the Sierra de Guadarrama and the Duratón gorges
Segovia is a city that surprises first-time visitors. The Roman aqueduct, with its 167 granite arches without mortar that have stood for almost twenty centuries, crosses the centre of the city as if time had not passed. The Alcázar, built on a rock overlooking the confluence of the Eresma and Clamores rivers, looks like something out of a fairy tale and was, according to tradition, one of the inspirations for the Disney castle. The Gothic cathedral, the last built in Spain using that technique, closes the monumental triangle of a city that deserves several hours of unhurried strolling.
The Sierra de Guadarrama, which Segovia shares with Madrid, offers mountain routes less than an hour from the capital. La Mujer Muerta, Peñalara, La Boca del Asno, the Navacerrada pass and the Valsaín pine forests are classic destinations for hiking and mountain biking. Valsaín, with its Scots pine forest of more than 10,000 hectares, is one of the great beech and pine woods of the sierra. The Royal Sites of La Granja de San Ildefonso and Riofrío, built by the Bourbons in the eighteenth century as royal residences, have gardens with monumental fountains and palaces that are a must-see, surrounded by oak woods where deer graze in peace.
The Duratón river gorges, in the north-east of the province, are one of the most rewarding excursions in all of Castile. The river has carved a canyon with limestone walls up to 100 metres high where more than 200 pairs of griffon vultures nest, the largest colony in inland Europe. The canoe trip through the canyon, passing the hermitage of San Frutos that hangs over the precipice, is an unforgettable experience. Sepúlveda, Pedraza with its fully preserved main square and its candlelit concerts in summer, and Turégano with its castle built into the church are charming medieval villages that can be visited in a day from the campsite.
Campsites in Segovia are relatively few for the appeal of the province, which means booking in advance in high season. The proximity to Madrid makes spring and summer weekends the busiest. Roast suckling pig, cooked in a wood-fired oven and so tender that it is carved with the edge of a plate, is the great dish of Segovian cuisine and one more reason to stay for dinner before heading back to the campsite. The ponche segoviano, a puff-pastry cake with cream, and the judiones of La Granja complete a table that does not disappoint.
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