Burgos walks

Fifty-seventh stage of the Camino de Santiago. After an urban interlude in Burgos, this stage takes you into the heart of the scorching landscapes of Castile. After Rabé de las Calzadas , you step straight onto a desert-like high plateau, dotted with villages nestled amidst the fields. Here, it is a desert of ploughed fields along a path that is often flat and straight, exposed to the wind or the beating sun! Protect yourself before you turn into a lobster.

The sheer number of things to do in Burgos is impressive: religious and secular monuments, parks, museums, fountains, statues and so on. Among the places to visit, perhaps the most important is the Cathedral of Santa María, a Gothic-style Catholic church converted into a museum. Inside, it houses numerous chapels, each of which is a small museum in its own right. Not far from the altar, on the floor, lies the tombstone of El Cid and Chimène. Also not to be missed are the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos Castle, the historic centre, the Miraflores Charterhouse, and so on. I spent a day visiting Burgos, at the end of the fifty-sixth stage of my Camino de Santiago.

Fifty-sixth stage of the Camino de Santiago. This stage towards Burgos passes through Atapuerca and takes you over the day’s only small hill through a rural area. There is an alternative route at the entrance to Burgos to avoid the tarmac after Orbaneja Riopico. This alternative, well signposted from Castañares, is more pleasant. It avoids the tarmac as much as possible and is shaded all the way along the river.

Fifty-eighth stage of the Camino de Santiago. This stage, with few trees to shelter from the fierce summer sun or the uncomfortable wind and rain, runs largely over good terrain through fields of grain. After passing under the arches of San Antón, you cross the village of Castrojeriz and, after climbing the Teso de Mostelares, you arrive at the village of Itero de la Vega.

This very short round trip hike takes you through an extremely narrow gorge. A small stream has cut through the mountain at an impressive height (100 metres), carving out a very narrow passage: you have to bend down to get through in some places. You will see vultures on the cliffs and a metal sculpture of a vulture by the side of the path.