Maderuelo, Medieval Walls Overlooking the Lake of Segovia

There are villages that don't ask to be discovered, and Maderuelo is one of them. Clinging to a hill in the north of the province of Segovia, in Castile and León, it still preserves its medieval walls and a maze of stone lanes where the loudest sound is the wind. To enter you pass beneath the old gate-tower, and from that moment time seems to slow down: a few houses, the odd cat, façades gilded by the afternoon sun.

Its setting is what makes it special. The village overlooks the Linares del Arroyo reservoir, a sheet of water that surrounds the hill on several sides and that, on clear days, mirrors the walls and the sky. From the highest points of the village your gaze runs across the water and the arid lands of Castile, in a contrast that stays with you. It's a panorama you won't find in rows of selfies: here the visitors are few, and often locals.

Maderuelo is also a land of ancient churches. The small Romanesque hermitage of the Vera Cruz is known for having housed a cycle of medieval frescoes, now preserved in a museum, while the village still holds religious buildings that tell of centuries of layered history. It's worth walking without haste, letting the details lead the way: an arch, a grille, a sudden view over the water.

To truly enjoy it, choose the shoulder seasons or autumn, when temperatures are mild and the few tourists thin out completely. Bring comfortable shoes, water and time. Maderuelo offers no spectacular attractions or queues to endure: it offers the increasingly rare experience of a real village living to its own slow rhythm.

Related guides: Spain off the beaten track: villages, islands and nature far from mass tourism · Instead of Barcelona: Mediterranean Spanish towns without the crowds or the chaos.

Getting there

Maderuelo rises on a hill overlooking the Linares del Arroyo reservoir, in the north of the province of Segovia near the border with Burgos. The most convenient way to reach it is by car: from Aranda de Duero you take the A-1 motorway and leave it shortly afterwards to continue on the local roads that lead to the bridge over the reservoir and into the village. Alternatively you can arrive from the Segovia area, again relying on the A-1. The reference airport is Madrid.

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