Traditions, museums, gastronomy
The customs of the Guadalajara Mountains
In the Sierra Norte de Guadalajara Natural Park there are many small villages where we can find different museums, some of them created and managed by the neighbors themselves in order not to forget their past, traditions and ancestral festivities. There are ethnographic museums in Arbancón, Villares de Jadraque, Muriel or Valverde de los Arroyos, where elements of daily life, farm work, trades and local history are shown.
In Almiruete, there is a museum dedicated to the Botargas and Mascaritas, which since ancient times, go out every Saturday of carnival and walk the streets of the village. Many of our villages are in themselves an open-air museum for their popular architecture, such as La Vereda, belonging to Campillo de Ranas, where you can see a perfectly preserved traditional house. Also in Campillo de Ranas Juan Andrés Roizo has created a set of models that reproduce in detail typical constructions of the black architecture as well as traditional trades. We stop at three more museums:
Tamajón Paleontological and Archaeological Interpretation Center - CIPAT. There is a rich paleontological and archaeological heritage in Tamajón. This museum exhibits pieces found in the excavations carried out in the area. You can also see a reproduction of a crocodile, based on the remains found in the area. It has a didactic classroom with different activities.
The Silver Museum in Hiendelaencina recalls the history of the town and the exploitation of the silver mines during the years of feverish activity of these.
We finish this tour at the Palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli (Cogolludo), in Renaissance style. Its facade is impressive and inside we can see a sample of the tiles and the main courtyard. It is one of the information points of the Natural Park and offers guided tours.
Inaddition, thanks to the commitment of our people, rich traditions that still survive from ancient times are maintained. They stand out for their singularity and colorfulness: The Octave of Corpus Christi with its Dances of the Holy Sacrament (celebrated in Valverde de los Arroyos on the Sunday following Corpus Christi), The Feast of the Holy Child in Majaelrayo (the first Sunday of September), The Botargas and Mascaritas of Almiruete (on Saturday of Carnival), The Machada of Bavaria (on Saturday of Carnival), The Machada of Bavaria (on Sunday of Carnival).bado de Carnaval), La Machada de Bocígano (a pastoral rite in Cardoso de la Sierra), La Pasión Viviente in Hiendelaencina (on Good Friday), la Botarga de la Candelaria in Retiendas (in Carnival), Santa Águeda in Arbancón and Cogolludo (in February).
No less important are the patron saint festivities that each town celebrates in honor of its patron saint, where it is common to see people playing Castilian bowling.
Some events that have made a place for themselves in these lands and that serve as a union between natives and visitors are the Day of La Sierra, sports competitions (Los Cien del Alto Rey, the Trail Minero, the Half Marathon of the Ocejón), the Festival of the Ocejón, the Festival of the Ocejón, the Festival of the Ocejón and the Festival of the Ocejón.n del Ocejón), the Myau Circus Festival in Albendiego, Art in La Plaza and the Festival de Artes Escénicas de la Ranas in Campillo de Ranas, the Medieval Market in Tamajón.
The old trades and traditions are related to the local gastronomy, with hearty dishes such as migas de pastor (shepherd's breadcrumbs). Our livestock gives us the best meats, with roast kid and lamb and veal chops and steaks.
The lomo and chorizo de la olla are the protagonists of the Jornadas de La Matanza and the bollos preñaos de Tamajón. The mountains provide us with wild boar and deer and honey of exceptional quality and purity, and varieties of mushrooms and fungi highly appreciated (boletus, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, truffles). With the fruits of the forest that we find in a rich natural pantry, jams are made, and walnuts and chestnuts are renowned, with their own festival, the Toma Castañas in Zarzuela de Galve.
All washed down with internationally awarded wines from Bodegas Finca Rio Negro in Cogolludo, with 42 hectares of vineyards located at 1000m. altitude, which also offers tours and tastings. A gift for the senses.