In search of the 'dinosaur' of the Jurassic Park of La Barranca

It's hard to motivate children to go out into the mountains with us, right?

First you have to convince them to go out into nature and leave the tablet at home, then rack their heads to find suitable routes for their physical level, and once the course is selected, make the day as enjoyable as possible so that the little ones don't get bored. ... In this

we are going to try to give you a hand by doing your homework for you: we propose

, and incidentally we give you some advice so that the little ones in the house start in the hobby of the mountain spending a fun day.

If instead of telling the children "we are going for a walk in the countryside", we suggest

, we have more ballots to motivate them and sign up for the plan.

And it is that one of the basic tips to enjoy a march with children is to turn each outing into an adventure;

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At the same time, adults also have to get involved in this game that we propose and learn to observe nature through the eyes of a child.

In this way we will be promoting one of the key pieces in the learning of the little ones: imagination.

Our adventure today aims to find the fossilized stone

of La Maliciosa, in the Jurassic Park of La Barranca.

, and make stops for the children to look at the map and thus become familiar with this fundamental tool in the mountains.

In addition, making them participants in the decisions of which path to take or look for the different signs of the route will promote their self-esteem and independence.

The La Maliciosa

is one of the whimsical shapes sculpted by the forces of nature and the passage of time in the Sierra de Guadarrama.

Although the stone figures of La Pedriza are better known, also in the neighboring valley of La Barranca, at the foot of the imposing Maliciosa

.

The stone-jawed Tyrannosaurus Rex awaits us hidden on this abrupt and vertical southern slope of La Maliciosa, crossed by two ravines, those of the Peña Jardinera and Gargantilla streams, and sandwiched between the Almorchones and Asientos

.

The route we propose is circular, with departure and arrival at the La Barranca car park.

We leave the car here and prepare to start the walk.

, and as they get older, fill it up more, this also distributes responsibility to them.

Ready, we cross the La Barranca reservoir to the other side by the dam, where there is a sign that describes the Mariano Route, which

.

Passing through the dam gate, we take a path to the right that borders a dense pine forest -it is the first section of the Mariano- and that ascends the western slope of the Cuerda de los Almorchones in the direction of Peñotillo Bajo, our first target.

Remember to go at the pace of the little ones

, the mountain for children must be a game, never a competition.

We must not force them or want to go too fast.

In this section, going up between abundant rockroses and bushes, we will see other well-known figures of the area: the Dog, which we leave on the left, and the dromedary, on our right.

Once past this, approximately 1.7 km, there is a detour to the right halfway up the slope towards Peñotillo Bajo (1,614 m), marked with a stone milestone.

You have to be careful because it is not very obvious.

From the Peñotillo Bajo pass we went to the opposite slope, that of the Peña Jardinera valley, descending until we crossed the stream of the same name;

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We cross the stream and leave it on our left as we ascend through the Asientos mountain range, along paths marked with stone milestones that meander through rocks and vegetation.

We enter the true steep territory of the southern slope of La Maliciosa, we will have to climb and use our hands in some sections to overcome the crags or boulders.

Children here have their ideal playground, give them freedom to explore, but keep an eye on them.

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Experimentation and error is the best of learning.

Overcoming stone obstacles we can already see the head of our Tyrannosaurus Rex appear, with a perfect hole in the shape of an eye sculpted by erosion.

We take the obligatory photos to show our friends from school and so that they sign up for the next excursion.

From here we have an incredible panoramic view of the Circus of La Barranca

, presided over by the peaks of La Maliciosa (2,227 m) and El Peñotillo (2,124 m) next to it, the Cuerda de las Cabrillas to the west, in the background the Bola del Mundo, to the This is the beginning of the Porrones range that joins La Pedriza, and to the south the towns of Navacerrada, Becerril de la Sierra and even the city of Madrid.

From here we go down the same path between rocks until we reach the Peña Jardinera stream again.

To make the route circular and not return through the same place, instead of crossing the stream to the right

.

We skirt it on the right and take the forest track that comes out on the other side, it is the Camino de los Almorchones.

We pass by the Beceilla fountain until we reach the Navacerrada river.

This path takes us back to the parking lot of La Barranca.

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Children imitate, for better and for worse.

Your behavior in the mountains must be exemplary to convey the importance and value of nature.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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