San Bartolomé Hermitage and the Cueva Grande

It is the image of the park: a Romanesque hermitage, wedged beneath the cliffs of the Lobos river above a meander, and opposite it the mouth of the Cueva Grande, which you enter without difficulty. You reach it by a flat walk beside the river from the car parks on the track, so it suits almost everyone, from small children to older people who walk slowly. Count on between one and two hours with the outward walk, the return and the time in the cave.

The hermitage

The hermitage dates from the 12th century, Romanesque with proto-Gothic features, and was part of what was the Templar monastery of San Juan de Otero. It has a rectangular plan and a semicircular apse, and a slightly pointed doorway with archivolts on columns with decorated capitals. Look at the corbels and the rose window, with figures that tradition calls esoteric: the rose window, with its five-pointed star, is now the park's logo. From outside it can always be seen. Inside it opens at limited hours, with a €1 entry; in the Junta's official listing, outside the opening season, it appears closed every day, so if you want to go in, ask first at the Park House or at Ucero Town Hall, 975 363 541.

Getting there and parking

From the SO-920, north of Ucero, a wide track leaves and leads to three car parks at the bottom of the canyon: Fuente Engómez, free, and Cueva Fría and Valdecea, paid. They are described on the page for the canyon car parks. From any of them you continue on foot, along a flat path beside the river, which is the first stretch of the river trail. According to Patrimonio Natural, from the canyon entrance at Fuente Engómez it is about 3.7 km to the hermitage, passing the Valdecea pool at around km 2.6; from the Valdecea car park, considerably less. On Sundays and long weekends the track fills up early: go first thing.

The Cueva Grande and what is nearby

Opposite the hermitage, the Cueva Grande can be visited independently and without difficulty. If you want to carry on, the river trail continues up the canyon towards the Presón cave and the Cueva Negra. Bring water: on the river path there are no treated-water fountains, and at the bottom of the canyon there are no bars.

For eating, the nearest is in Ucero; the Los Templarios restaurant, serving mushroom cooking, is in the village, and in El Burgo de Osma there is the Virrey Palafox.