Stage Santo Domingo de la Calzada – Burgos (By bike)

At about 72 kilometres, this is the longest stage of the section, marking the transition between the vineyards of La Rioja and the wide horizons of the Castilian meseta. An endurance day with a single serious obstacle, the climb of the Montes de Oca, and a rewarding finish in the Burgos capital.

From Santo Domingo de la Calzada the Camino soon crosses into the province of Burgos via Grañón and Redecilla del Camino, considered the first pilgrim village of Castile and León. After Viloria de Rioja and Villamayor del Río, you reach Belorado, an arcaded town and former Jewish quarter.

Leaving Villafranca Montes de Oca begins the climb of the Montes de Oca, a long stretch of scrubland and pine forest, historically feared for its loneliness. At the top, San Juan de Ortega keeps the church where, at the equinoxes, a ray of sunlight lights up the capital of the Annunciation.

After the descent through Agés you reach Atapuerca, near the sierra of the famous sites on human evolution declared a World Heritage Site. From the Alto de Matagrande, Burgos can already be sensed. The entry into the city culminates at its Gothic cathedral, one of the peaks of Spanish art and the burial place of El Cid.