The Alberche is a river in the Iberian Peninsula, Spain, a right-hand tributary of the Tagus, which flows through the Spanish autonomous communities of Castile and León, Community of Madrid and Castile-La Mancha.

It originates on the southern slope of the Sierra de Villafranca, belonging to the Central system. After a journey of 177 km, it flows into the waters of the Tagus river at Talavera de la Reina, in the province of Toledo.

It is held back in the reservoirs of Burguillo and Charco del Cura (Ávila), San Juan and Picadas (Madrid) and Cazalegas (Toledo). Its main tributaries include the Cofio and the Perales.

Its spring is located at an altitude of 1,700 m, in the place known as Fuente Alberche, situated on the hill of Cuarenta Pinos, between the towns of San Martín de la Vega del Alberche and La Herguijuela in Avila.

The Alberche enters the Community of Madrid through the municipality of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, where it is held in the San Juan reservoir, which this municipality shares with Pelayos de la Presa.

The last town in the Madrid community that the river crosses is Villa del Prado. In this area, the Alberche has descended to an altitude of 430 m (the lowest altitude in the Community of Madrid) and is surrounded by irrigated crops, located around one of the most important river groves in the region. This area is known as La Poveda. In Castilla-La Mancha, the river first crosses the town of Santa Cruz del Retamar, in the Calalberche urbanization. It then passes through Escalona, ​​in the same province, where it forms a meander with which it surrounds the medieval castle of this town, built in the 15th century. Downstream, it gives its name to several urbanizations near its banks, such as Cerro Alberche and Atalaya del Alberche.

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