WestKirsty
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Next up: Viejo/Olvidado
Hello! Living in Bilbao has meant that I've been lucky enough to do several stages of the Camino Olvidado as day/weekend trips. This past weekend a friend and I walked 2 stages - Espinosa de los Monteros - Pedrosa de Valdeporres - Arija.
Having seen photos and mentions of the Cueva Ermita San Bernabé on this forum before, I really wanted to find a way to visit the site but not have to backtrack or spend 2 nights in the same place. Turns out there are loads of trails in the area and we ended up having a spectacular day walking from Espinosa to Pedrosa via the site, taking a tour of the cave/ermita, walking on the ridge above the valley, taking a little detour to see El Ventanón and then down into Pedrosa.
In total, this route was 26.15 kilometres - only slightly longer than the official stage - and 652m of elevation gain. I highly recommend this route!! The owner of the hotel I stayed in was also mentioning that it's a shame this isn't a better known option for those walking the Olvidado.
Here are our tracks for the day: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trai...pa-espinosa-de-los-monteros-pedrosa-126330449
We followed the official route (very well waymarked!) from Espinosa until Quisicedo de Sotoscueva. From there, we followed the PRC-BU 31 trail (marked with yellow and white markings). There was also good signage as it's to the popular tourist attraction.
After taking a ridiculous amount of photos of the site and the 45 minute tour (4.50 euros) we went up and joined the PRC-BU 32 trail (also well marked) to Villamartín de Sotoscueva. From there we followed the GR-1 (red and white markings) to Pedrosa. Interestingly, when we were walking out of Villamartín there were also yellow arrows pointing the way. I'm very curious about why they appeared here and if there was another marked way to that location that we didn't take. I've done a search on the forum but haven't solved this mystery yet. I have both the Wise Pilgrim Olvidado app and the Official (Orange coloured) app and neither have this alternate mapped.
If you look at our trail, we diverged from the GR-1 to see the rock bridge/window (El Ventanón). It's 1km in either direction but easy walking and on a marked trail. If you don't want to see that, it means that this route is actually shorter than the official trail.
The descent down into Pedrosa is quite long but wasn't as bad as I though it'd be when I first looked at the elevation map the evening before. It's basically a very long switchback but on a proper hiking trail. Having said that, if you have bad knees, do take this into consideration.
Here are some photos to tempt you
Buen Camino!
Having seen photos and mentions of the Cueva Ermita San Bernabé on this forum before, I really wanted to find a way to visit the site but not have to backtrack or spend 2 nights in the same place. Turns out there are loads of trails in the area and we ended up having a spectacular day walking from Espinosa to Pedrosa via the site, taking a tour of the cave/ermita, walking on the ridge above the valley, taking a little detour to see El Ventanón and then down into Pedrosa.
In total, this route was 26.15 kilometres - only slightly longer than the official stage - and 652m of elevation gain. I highly recommend this route!! The owner of the hotel I stayed in was also mentioning that it's a shame this isn't a better known option for those walking the Olvidado.
Here are our tracks for the day: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trai...pa-espinosa-de-los-monteros-pedrosa-126330449
We followed the official route (very well waymarked!) from Espinosa until Quisicedo de Sotoscueva. From there, we followed the PRC-BU 31 trail (marked with yellow and white markings). There was also good signage as it's to the popular tourist attraction.
After taking a ridiculous amount of photos of the site and the 45 minute tour (4.50 euros) we went up and joined the PRC-BU 32 trail (also well marked) to Villamartín de Sotoscueva. From there we followed the GR-1 (red and white markings) to Pedrosa. Interestingly, when we were walking out of Villamartín there were also yellow arrows pointing the way. I'm very curious about why they appeared here and if there was another marked way to that location that we didn't take. I've done a search on the forum but haven't solved this mystery yet. I have both the Wise Pilgrim Olvidado app and the Official (Orange coloured) app and neither have this alternate mapped.
If you look at our trail, we diverged from the GR-1 to see the rock bridge/window (El Ventanón). It's 1km in either direction but easy walking and on a marked trail. If you don't want to see that, it means that this route is actually shorter than the official trail.
The descent down into Pedrosa is quite long but wasn't as bad as I though it'd be when I first looked at the elevation map the evening before. It's basically a very long switchback but on a proper hiking trail. Having said that, if you have bad knees, do take this into consideration.
Here are some photos to tempt you
Buen Camino!
