The black architecture and the surrounding nature make Patones de Arriba, in Spain, one of the most spectacular villages in the whole region of Madrid.
Patones is divided into two areas. On the one hand, Patones de Abajo, a completely new urban area that was formed in the vicinity of the main road when, from the 1960s onwards, the inhabitants of Patones settled there and the new village was built. On the other hand we have Patones de Arriba, a much older village that maintains its own personality. An ideal destination to disconnect from the daily routine and enjoy nature.
You can't talk about Patones de Arriba in the second decade of the 2000s in terms of unveiling a secret. This village in the Sierra Norte de Madrid was for many years a place where time did not even pass. The situation changed when it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest and it automatically became what it already was and what this headline anticipates: the most beautiful village in Madrid.
A visit to Patones has a function that goes beyond visual delight. The beauty of Patones is not Patones -yes, it is Patones-, but the enclave in which it is set. The hiking routes that Wikiloc has collected so well or the certainty that you are in one of the few villages in Madrid that exemplify black architecture.
Black architecture, which is typical of Guadalajara and which in Madrid is only present in half a dozen villages, is defined by the material used to build the houses that make up its villages: slate. Black architecture was born or established as a result of the need to adapt to the extreme climatic conditions of winter.
The result of the symbiosis between the slate and the cobblestones of the ground gives rise to a common definition on the internet and also to the first description that any visitor to Patones de Arriba makes. It is a fairytale village.
