Patones is a Spanish municipality in the region of the Comunidad de Madrid situated partly in the valley of the river Jarama and partly in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range. Although small, the town has its own council, and consists of two distinct settlements: The ancient hillside village (Upper) Patones Arriba and the modern (Lower) Patones Abajo on the plain below. Altitude: 834 m Extension: 35 km² Distance from Madrid: 60 km Population (in 1999) 368 According to an 18th-century travelogue quoted below, the name is believed to originate from the family name of the first settlers Patón, who were, reputedly refugees from Muslim invaders who established a private Christian Kingdom of Patones Alternatively, since Iberian languages are of Latin origin the name may simply be derived from patricius. Patones Abajo The area around Patones is a major water catchment zone with extensive storage reservoirs and pumping stations operated by the company Canal de Isabel II which is the principal water utility for both the city and the region of Madrid. As mechanized transport grew in importance around the mid 20th century, a more accessible settlement was established on the plain below the original village, hence the name Patones Abajo (Lower Patones) Although the schools and administration buildings in the old village were then of fairly recent construction, new facilities were created in the new settlement. (Upper) Patones Arriba was finally abandoned in the mid-1960s. In the 1990s the historical value of the old village and the potential for hill-sports was appreciated, and the old settlement was extensively rehabilitated. Facilities for rural education, cultural tourism, and sports-recreation were established. At the same time, day facilities for visitors and short-stay accommodation was also amplified and improved to meet modern technical standards. A Rural Telecentre CENIT was established in 2002 to enhance to local economic development, and offer modern services in new technologies to the local population and business community. The single-track road No. M912 to the Patones Arriba is heavily used by sports-cyclists, and motor-vehicle access has been severely restricted both for road-safety and environmental protection reasons. In 2011 a free micro-bus service between Patones Abajo and Patones Arriba was initiated as an experiment, principally to facilitate access for tourists and hotel guests. Patones Arriba Patones Arriba existed some time before 1527, when its inhabitants were required to repair a bridge . It is next mentioned in