Belorado - San Juan de Ortega

(S) Depending on where you are camping, head towards the Monastery of Santa Clara, then continue south-east until you reach the crossroads opposite a wall covered in a fresco.

(1) Turn right into the dead-end road and continue until you reach the N-120.

(2) Turn right to leave the town of Belorado and, at the sign marking the town exit, cross carefully to take a dirt track on the right. Using a wooden footbridge running parallel to the road bridge, cross the Tirón, a tributary of the Ebro. Continue slightly uphill along a lovely path running about a hundred metres from the main road until you reach the petrol station.

.(3) Pass to the left of the petrol station and continue to a roundabout.

(4) Cross carefully and continue along the path opposite. Pass under the high-voltage power lines, then, at the fork, continue straight on (south-west) until you reach a crossroads.

(5) Keep going in the same direction until you reach another crossroads near a rest area.

(6) Continue in the same direction (west), pass under a high-voltage power line before arriving at the village of Tosantos, near a small drinking fountain.

(7) Carry on straight ahead, cross the village and continue to a crossroads with a small square concrete structure.

(8) Turn left and follow a slightly uphill stony path through the farmland. Keep heading towards the village you can see in the distance, ignoring the paths coming from the right or left. Before reaching the village, you can see, on the right, hidden in the cliff, the cave sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de la Peña. You arrive at the village of Villambistia in front of the Church of San Esteban.

(9) Continue straight on, passing the wash house and the fountain. According to tradition, completely wetting your head in the fountain is said to bring total relief from fatigue in the most difficult moments. Continue in the same direction (west) to leave Villambistia and rejoin the country path, which continues to climb gently. You will reach the junction with the N-120.

(10) Turn left and, after about a hundred metres, carefully cross the N-120 to take the path opposite and reach the village of Espinosa del Camino.

(11) Continue straight on, pass the wash house and turn right just after it. Walk past the football pitch before reaching a crossroads.

(12) Turn left and follow a wide path climbing between the cereal fields. You will reach the junction with the BU-704.

(13) Continue straight on in a west-south-westerly direction. At the end of this almost straight stretch, you will reach the ruins of San Felices Monastery.

(14) Walk a few dozen metres and turn left to join the N-120.

(15) Turn right onto a path that runs alongside the main road. Cross the Oca Stream via a wooden footbridge before arriving in Villafranca Montes de Oca, opposite a bar/restaurant.

(16) Continue straight on through the village. You can stock up on supplies at a grocery shop. At the church, turn right, walk past it and continue to the end of the hotel’s boundary wall.

(17) Turn right then left in front of the satellite dish. Pass the cemetery and continue right towards the north-west, along a small stony path through farmland and then into the forest. Climb the steep slope along this wide track to a rest area and the Mojapán Spring.

(18) Surrounded by oaks, junipers and heather, continue the climb. After a 90° turn to the south, carry on until you reach a crossroads.

(19) Continue straight ahead up the slope to a large memorial stone situated at the top of Pradela Hill. This monument is dedicated to those who fell during the Civil War on Pedraja Hill and was built by their loved ones, so that their memory may never be forgotten.

(20) After this monument, begin a descent along a path running parallel to the N-120. Cross a stream before climbing up the other side and then moving away from the N-120. Continue along wide paths through a vast forest of oak and conifer trees until you reach a crossroads.

(21) Continue westwards to the Prejada rest area at a crossroads.

(22) Continue your descent through the woods to reach the Descanso para Peregrinos picnic area. At this peaceful spot, right in the middle of the forest, tables and tree trunks serving as stools have been set up and are very handy for a break. You are welcomed by a friendly couple who sing and dance and offer you watermelons, fruit and drinks on a donation basis.

(23) Descend slowly along a wide, stony path until you reach a fork.

(24) Take the left-hand path and continue to the crossroads.

(25) Carry on straight westwards to the next fork.

(26) Keep left and continue until you leave the woodland. Cross the Arroyo de San Juan stream before arriving at a crossroads in front of an original sculpture set on a cone.

(27) Turn slightly right to reach the village of San Juan de Ortega. Walk past the monastery. You can stock up on supplies here. Look around the monument for a place to camp. You can ask at the lodge for a spot(E).

Provisions available at the start, in Villafranca Montes de Oca (16) and at the finish.
Camping: no campsite in the village. Look around the monastery and enquire at the lodge.
Accommodation:
Hotel Rural La Henera - San Juan de Ortega. Tel: +34606198734
El Descanso de San Juan. Tel: +34690398024

(7) In Tosantos, on the right, you can see the walls of the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Peña, carved into the mountain; the statuette of this Virgin of the Peak dates from the 12th century.

(9) In the centre of Villambistia, the disused chapel was dedicated to Saint Roch. The Church of San Esteban, overlooking the village from its hilltop, houses the old altarpiece of San Francisco de Belorado.

(11) In Espinosa del Camino, a Romanesque, polychrome statue of San Indalecio, the region’s presumed evangeliser.

(E) In San Juan de Ortega: a church listed as a national monument, built around 1150.