Soto de Viñuelas, also known as Mount Viñuelas, is a meadow-oak forest north of the city of Madrid, south of Tres Cantos and St. Augustine's Guadalix, east of the Monte de El Pardo and west of San Sebastián de los Reyes, all municipalities are parts of the Community of Madrid, Spain.[1] It is a fenced property of 3,000 hectares, which includes important ecological values, landscape and art. It belongs to the municipality of Madrid, although it contains small areas north, corresponding to Tres Cantos, one of them is the development of the same name. Other developments nearby are Ciudalcampo and Fuente del Fresno, situated on its western boundary. In 1985 Soto de Viñuelas has been made in to the Regional Park of the Cuenca Alta del Manzanares, the largest protected natural area surface of the region, where it has been classified as Area B, the legal instrument that allows agricultural land use. Soto de Viñuelas also received the statement of Special Protection Area for Birds. It is accessed from the M-607 Freeway (Colmenar Viejo Freeway), exit 20, where the place is marked, along with Tres Cantos.
The estate belonged to the lordship of Real de Manzanares, owned by the Casa de Mendoza. In the 16th century passed into the hands of Emperor Charles I. In 1693 Soto de Viñuelas was acquired by Cristobal Alvarado Bracamonte, who rebuilt the manor house, now known as Castle Viñuelas, to facilitate the stay of Philip V. In 1751, the Spanish Crown took the land, at the request of Ferdinand VI, who joined the Royal Site of El Pardo. In the 19th century, after the fall of Isabel II, the site was auctioned. In the 20th century, during the Spanish Civil War, the castle served as headquarters of the Republican Army. After the war, the mansion was chosen as residence by Francisco Franco, who lived in it was packaged as the Royal Palace of El Pardo. The farm has gone through various private hands, Banco Santander and the family of Urquijo Colomer.