The Town of Sepúlveda

Sepúlveda sits on the first gorge traced by the Duratón, between this river and the Caslilla, which join beneath the town, and it is the gateway to the natural park. The medieval town keeps stretches of wall with several of its gates, five Romanesque churches still standing and a Plaza Mayor closed off by the castle. It can be seen well in an hour and a half on foot, without going into the museums.

A walk around the town

Start at the Plaza Mayor, the centre of the town; one of its short sides is closed by the castle, which marked the limit of the wall. From there go up to the church of El Salvador, at the top of the town: the tourist office dates it to 1093 and presents it as the oldest Romanesque building in the province of Segovia south of the Duero. It is declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.

Return to the square and take calle de la Barbacana to the medieval Ecce Homo gate. On the other side, calle de los Santos Justo y Pastor climbs to the church of the Virgen de la Peña, patron saint of Sepúlveda and its Tierra: a 12th-century Romanesque church, with a 13th-century porch and a camarín and sacristy added later. Next to it is the viewpoint, looking out over the Duratón canyon.

On the way you will see other churches: Santiago, with its brick apse, unique in Sepúlveda, which is now the Park Centre; Santos Justo y Pastor, from the 12th and 13th centuries, converted into the Museo de los Fueros, and, outside the walls, San Bartolomé, the only one left of the three that stood outside. Of the wall, gates such as the Fuerza, the Castro, the Duruelo, the Río and the Vado are still standing.

Museums and guided visits

As well as the Museo de los Fueros, which holds the town's historical and documentary heritage, there is an interpretation centre in the old jail, built against the wall next to one of its gates, and a museum with about thirty works by the painter Lope Tablada de Diego, opened in 2017. The tourist office, at plaza del Trigo, 6, gives information on visits and guided tours of the town: 921 540 425 or [email protected]. According to its website it is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:30 and from 15:30 to 18:30, on Wednesdays from 10:00 to 14:30 and from 16:00 to 18:30, and on Thursdays only in the morning, until 14:00.

If you want to walk further

The Two Rivers Path leaves from the Park Centre, makes this same circuit of the town and then goes down through the gates of the wall to the bridges over the Duratón and the Caslilla. To see the canyon at its most spectacular, the path to the hermitage of San Frutos leaves from the San Frutos car park, reached by car via Villaseca.