Patones de Arriba

Patones de Arriba is the kind of place that seems too perfect to be real — a hillside village built entirely of black slate, no cars allowed in the upper streets, 60 permanent inhabitants, and a canyon cutting into the rock 100 metres below. It is 58 km from the centre of Madrid and accessible on a day trip, but it receives a fraction of the visitor traffic of Toledo or Segovia. Whether this is because it requires a car (the practical approach) or because most Madrid day-trip guides focus on the UNESCO walled cities rather than the smaller Sierra villages, the result is the same: a village that is genuinely quiet during the week and manageable even on weekends.

The geological setting explains the architecture. Patones sits on a formation of Cambrian slate (500 million years old, among the oldest rock in the region) that provided the building material for every structure in the village — walls, roofs, pavements, steps — all black, all the same mineral. The effect in afternoon light, with the black stones wet from rain or dry in the sun, is visually unlike anything else in the region. The lower village (Patones de Abajo) is modern and unremarkable; the upper village (Patones de Arriba) is the medieval core and the reason to come.

Getting to Patones de Arriba from Madrid

By car: the most practical approach. Take the A-2 motorway east towards Guadalajara, then the M-103 north through Torrejón de Ardoz and Talamanca del Jarama to Patones de Abajo. Total journey approximately 55–65 minutes from central Madrid. Park in Patones de Abajo (free parking below the lower village) and walk uphill to Patones de Arriba — a 20-minute climb on the access path (steep but manageable). No cars are permitted in the upper village.

By public transport: Bus line 196 from Plaza de Castilla metro station reaches Patones de Abajo in about 1 hour 15 minutes. The bus runs a limited service (weekdays only in off-peak periods, slightly more frequent at weekends — check ctm-madrid.es for current times). From Patones de Abajo, the walk to the upper village takes 20–25 minutes uphill.

The village

Patones de Arriba is small enough to explore completely in 1.5–2 hours. The main street winds uphill between black slate houses; side lanes lead to more modest residential buildings, all in the same material. The architectural vocabulary is entirely vernacular — no ornate facades, no Baroque churches, no plaza mayor with arcades. The church (Iglesia de San José, 16th century, also built in slate) is simple; the school is abandoned; the remaining houses are either occupied by the permanent population (mostly older residents) or converted to rural tourism rentals and restaurants.

The upper path continues above the village to the ruins of the Castillo de Uceda lookout and views over the Tajo gorge — the canyon cuts steeply into the rock immediately north of the village, with the Tajo river (here still relatively narrow) visible 80–100 metres below. Griffon vultures nest in the gorge walls and are reliably visible on thermals above.

The Tajo gorge trail

The Senda del Tajo (Tajo gorge trail) is a marked footpath that descends from Patones de Arriba into the gorge and follows the river upstream and downstream. The most popular section runs 4–5 km through the gorge, occasionally tunnelled through the rock (the Cueva del Reguerillo, a registered prehistoric cave, is accessible near the trail — not open inside but the entrance is notable). The path is well maintained but requires reasonable footwear; the gorge sections are shaded and cool even in summer.

The gorge trail takes about 2–3 hours return for the main section. Combined with the village exploration, this makes a full half-day programme.

Cueva del Reguerillo: one of the most significant prehistoric cave sites in the Comunidad de Madrid, containing Palaeolithic paintings (bears, horses, deer) and evidence of human habitation over 40,000 years. The cave is not open to general visits due to fragility of the art; exterior viewing from the trail is possible. Authorised guided archaeological visits are occasionally organised.

Where to eat in Patones de Arriba

Despite its tiny size, Patones de Arriba has a handful of restaurants that have made it a lunch-destination for Madrid day-trippers.

El Tiempo Perdido (Calle Travesía 1): the most consistently recommended restaurant in the village. Modern Castilian cooking with local ingredients — roast kid (cabrito) from the Alcarria, mountain mushroom risotto, good desserts. Mains €18–€28. Book in advance; small (30 covers) and popular.

La Cantina (Calle Real 14): more casual, better prices, reliable homestyle cooking. The menú del día on weekdays (€12–€14) is good value. The terrace has gorge views.

Mesón Los Cántaros: traditional Castilian kitchen, lamb, roast meats. More for the hiking-recovery crowd than fine dining.

Arriving hungry at Patones is common sense — the combination of the walk up and the limited options makes booking ahead worthwhile for El Tiempo Perdido, particularly on weekends.

Practical information

Timing: the upper village is extremely small — if three tour coaches arrived simultaneously, it would be overwhelmed. The saving grace is that coaches generally don’t come here. Weekday mornings are completely quiet; weekends bring Madrilenos in cars, but the capacity is self-limiting. Avoid the two peak August weeks (14–30 August) and Spanish national holiday weekends.

Photography: the village is most photogenic in two conditions: after rain (the slate gleams and the greens saturate) and in afternoon light (the black stone absorbs and reflects the low sun differently). Overcast days are also good — the black-on-green-on-grey combination is atmospheric.

Combining with other Sierra visits: Patones is in the eastern Sierra, further from Rascafría (western Guadarrama) than from the Alcalá de Henares area. A logical pairing is Patones in the morning + Alcalá de Henares in the afternoon if you have a car. On foot, the day is complete with the village + gorge walk.

For best day trips from Madrid: Patones is the specialist’s choice — strongly recommended for travellers who want something different from the standard walled-city circuit and are comfortable with a car. Less suitable for first-time visitors whose priority is maximum content per hour.