San Martín de Valdeiglesias is a sizeable town in the foothills of the Sierra de Gredos, with all basic services. The Castillo de la Coracera — a well-preserved 15th-century castle — is the main attraction. Isabel la Católica was proclaimed Queen of Castile within its walls in 1467, a rehearsal for the formal coronation that followed in Segovia.
The surrounding area produces Garnacha wines under the Vinos de Madrid denomination. The town has a pleasant, lived-in character and makes a good overnight stop before the mountain crossing to Ávila.
The Castillo de la Coracera was built in the 15th century by Don Álvaro de Luna (the same figure who built Escalona's castle). After his execution, the castle passed to the Crown. In 1467, a group of Castilian nobles staged a symbolic ceremony here, proclaiming the young Princess Isabel as the rightful Queen of Castile over her brother's choice of successor — a political act that would eventually reshape Spanish and world history.
