42.79° N · 4.26° W
A castle, a monastery and a Romanesque museum at the gateway to the Montaña Palentina, a church carved into rock and bison, an hour from Palencia.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Premonstratensian monastery with a Romanesque cloister and the ROM centre, Romanesque and Territory, with models of the region's churches · 50 min guided · €7.50
The arcaded square, the Gothic collegiate church with its tomb, the Romanesque church of Santa Cecilia and the climb to the castle on the crag · 2 h · collegiate church €2
A church carved into the rock, with its bell gable above the crag, 6 km from Aguilar · 30 min · €2
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From May to October, with the churches open long hours and the meadows green. In winter it is mountain cold, the bison can be seen only at weekends and many churches open only in the morning or by appointment.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
The northern Romanesque of Palencia is spread across dozens of small villages: without a car you can't link them. Aguilar is the base, on the A-67 between Palencia and Santander, and almost everything is within 40 minutes.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Romanesque only bores children if it is one church after another. Mix it up: a church dug into a crag, the bison of San Cebrián, the climb to the castle and the ROM museum, with models.
For teenagers, what works here is what has real history behind it: an animal that in 1927 had no free-living individual left, labyrinth-shaped rocks, a church inside a crag.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Renovated 50-room hotel a hundred metres from the centre of Aguilar, with 24-hour reception, café, restaurant and rooms with a terrace onto the garden.
Why we like it: Inn with 22 double rooms in the Santa María la Real monastery complex, next to the ROM museum, with garden, parking and dogs admitted.
Why we like it: Former rectory renovated as a 30-bed hostel beside the bison reserve, with kitchen, dining room and heating.
Services for this trip
Areas, for any way of travelling
| Area | Who it's for | Average night |
|---|---|---|
| Aguilar de Campoo | Monastery, castle, hotel and tourist office | |
| Valdivia and Las Loras | Olleros, Mave, Las Tuerces | |
| La Pernía | San Salvador de Cantamuda, San Cebrián bison |
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the roast lechazo, the house speciality.
What to order: something from the wild tuna section and, for the local flavour, the oven-roast shoulder of lechazo.
What to order: the roast lechazo, ordered the day before; if you have not ordered it, the Pisuerga trout or the stewed lamb.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
43.05° N · 4.37° W
By car
43.15° N · 4.62° W
By carOn foot
43.39° N · 4.29° W
By car
43.38° N · 4.40° W
By car
Tips
Almost all close from 14:00 to 16:00, and in winter many do not open in the afternoon.
From 9 December to 14 March guided visits are by compulsory reservation.
Olleros, Mave and Santa Cecilia are closed on those days.
In winter the last visit leaves at 12:30.
Call at the KARST centre first: Las Tuerces and Covalagua are understood much better afterwards.
Aguilar de Campoo is the large town of northern Palencia, at the foot of the Montaña Palentina, with a castle on a crag, an arcaded square and, on the way out of town, the monastery of Santa María la Real. It is the base for exploring the Romanesque of northern Palencia: within half an hour there is a church carved inside a rock, mountain collegiate churches and temples in villages of fifty inhabitants. To the south begin the loras, limestone plateaus that have been a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2017; to the north, the European bison of San Cebrián de Mudá.
Along the A-67 towards Santander: a little over an hour. From Burgos, about 75 minutes along the N-627 and Aguilar. From Santander, along the A-67 southwards, also a little over an hour. From Valladolid, an hour and three quarters; from León, a little under two hours.
In Aguilar, on the streets around the Paseo de la Cascajera and Avenida de Ronda, and go into the Plaza de España on foot. Santa María la Real, on the way out towards Cervera, has its own car park. In the Romanesque villages you park at the entrance: they are small and the churches are a step away.
A day covers Aguilar, Santa María la Real and two churches nearby, such as Olleros and Mave. With a night, add the bison reserve in the morning and San Salvador de Cantamuda, or the KARST centre and Las Tuerces.
From May to October: the churches open for long hours, the meadows are green and the days are long. In summer the nights are cool. In winter it is mountain cold; the churches open less, the bison reserve only at weekends in the morning and Santa María la Real requires booking the guided visit.
The monastery of Santa María la Real has a Romanesque cloister and the ROM museum, with models of the churches of the district: self-guided visit €4.50, guided €7.50. In the centre, the Plaza de España with the collegiate church of San Miguel (€2), and above it, the Romanesque church of Santa Cecilia (€2) and the castle. The KARST centre explains the geopark before you go to the rocks.
6 km to the south, the rock-cut hermitage of Olleros de Pisuerga, a church excavated in a crag. A little lower down, Santa María de Mave. Towards the mountain, San Salvador de Cantamuda, with its enormous bell gable. The main ones have fixed hours, almost all close Monday and Tuesday and cost €2; the rest are opened by appointment on 616 520 509, with 48 hours' notice.
At San Cebrián de Mudá, about 20 minutes away, a 20-hectare reserve keeps European bison in semi-liberty. The visit, guided, lasts two hours, on foot (€10.50), by electric bike or by calesa.
El Valentín, more than sixty years old, is a hotel and roast-lamb restaurant in the centre, with a café from 7:30. The Posada Santa María la Real occupies part of the monastery and admits dogs, according to the official listing. For groups, the Goina hostel, beside the bison reserve. In Santa María de Mave, next to the Romanesque church, the restaurant of El Convento de Mave roasts lamb to order; it is open from late March to October.
Questions
A little over an hour along the A-67. From Burgos or Santander, also about an hour and a quarter.
€4.50 for the self-guided visit to the ROM museum and €7.50 for the guided one, of 50 minutes.
Olleros de Pisuerga, Santa María de Mave, Revilla de Santullán, San Salvador de Cantamuda and, in Aguilar, the collegiate church and Santa Cecilia, with fixed hours. The others, by appointment on 616 520 509.
In the San Cebrián de Mudá reserve, about 20 minutes away, with a guided visit.
Yes, if you mix things up: bison, the church inside the rock, the castle and the ROM models.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castile-and-leon/aguilar-de-campoo
