Guided Walk through the Sabinares del Arlanza from Hortigüela

Pedrete Guiados, an adventure tourism company from Burgos, runs a guided route from Hortigüela of about 4 km and three hours through the karst landscapes of the Sabinares del Arlanza-La Yecla Natural Park. It is beginner level and suitable from age 5, so it works for families and for people who don't walk often.

What you see

The route passes the natural viewpoint of Cueva Negra and the cave of the San Pelayo hermitage, with its rock balcony over the valley, and the guide explains how water has shaped the limestone and the legends the village tells about the cave. That is why the equipment they lend includes headlamp, helmet and gloves, all approved.

The park, declared by an act of the Cortes de Castilla y León in December 2020, protects what Turismo de Castilla y León presents as the largest and best-preserved juniper wood in the world, with junipers more than two thousand years old. The Spanish juniper shares the hillside with holm oaks, Pyrenean oaks, Portuguese oaks and pines, and beside the Arlanza grows a riverside forest of ash, alder, poplar and willow. On the cliffs live around a hundred pairs of griffon vultures, and in the area you can see golden eagles, short-toed eagles and Bonelli's eagles, goshawks and peregrine falcons.

Price and booking

The price is per person and depends on the group: €25 in groups of 6 to 10 and €18 from 11. Children under 5 do not pay. If there are fewer than six of you, the company can join you to another group; for large groups, ask for a quote. The website does not publish a fixed calendar or meeting point: it is agreed when booking, on 652 19 38 49 (also by WhatsApp), at [email protected] or on the form on its website.

Wear comfortable, warm clothes and shoes with good grip, because the terrain is stony and slippery. In summer add water and sun protection.

Pedrete Guiados also offers, in the park, an introductory abseiling workshop of about four hours and, for those looking for something more demanding, the K4 via ferrata at Espeja de San Marcelino, advanced level, from age 12, with a 30-metre zip line.

To round off the day

Hortigüela is a short distance from the ruins of San Pedro de Arlanza, in a bend of the river on the way to Covarrubias, and from the Visigothic hermitage of Quintanilla de las Viñas, at the foot of the Peña de Lara. If you enjoyed the guided experience, the same company runs the via ferrata at Arauzo de Miel, in the same park, suitable from age 8. And to see another side of the park without a guide, the walkways of the La Yecla gorge, near Silos, can be walked in a quarter of an hour.