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Hiking routes


plano-ruta-grandeHermitages Route.
Distance: 12,9 km,
Estimated time: 3h
Recommended season: Spring & fall.
Medium difficulty
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To know and to enjoy Nature which surrounds this town there is signaled a series of routes that can be made walking or by bicycle and that define the wealth and singularity of this land.

There is an interesting set of seven hermitages from the first half of XVIII century. They can be visited through a trailing route.

After visiting the Santa Ana hermitage we descend along the Vega path, skirted by willows along most of its stretch and refresh at the La Charca fountain. From there we turn right to take the path that joins the Los Abades path, go to the right until it crosses the San Isidro path and go up to see the hermitage of San Isidro.

After the visit, we must return a small stretch to take the Cañada del Corcho to the Arenales. With the Villalobón hill staying to the west, we continue up to the pinewoods and follow along the ravine through a beautiful natural area with good views until reaching the La Horra highway. We will go along a stretch up to the Otero path, which we will follow to later take the Olmedillo up to the Santa Lucía hermitage.

Afterwars we should descend from behind to the Amancio small hermitage, a local sculptor who has made a statue of a laid Christ and go up to Tabor hill, a pinewood surrounded by vineyards and go down again along the La Tejera path to ascend the continuation to the top of the Garenes, where we can enjoy excellent views from the valley.

We will follow up to the pools leaving to the left the Buenavista area (a hill with oaks, pines and cypresses) and reach the Burgos highway, which we leave after a few meters to head to Fuente Bajera, where we can see old pools. The pathway goes along here up to the hill until reaching the Virgen de los Prados hermitage, where we can take a rest.

Then we take the Camino Real, which runs parallel to a stream and takes us back to the town. We enter the village through the Fuente de Lerma grove, next to which we find what remains of San Sebastián hermitage, to take the way up to the San Jorge hill, where we will find the sixth and last Sotillo hermitage and where the route ends.

Along the way we will find some water fountains to refresh: Virgen de los Prados, Aguachar (La Charca), Huerto Bonito, Valllejondo, to the Piscinas, Fuente Bajera.

A curious reader may check that the four hermitages, Virgen de los Prados, to the north, San Isidro, to the south, San Jorge to the east and Santa Lucia to the west, form a perfect cross, with the long arm running north-south, and the short arm, east-west. In the same way, among the hermitages of Santa Lucía, San Jorge, San Sebastián and Santa Ana, another cross is formed, but with the arm running east-west. These facts may have been by chance, or otherwise be the result of something planned to be that way. We believe in the second possibility based mostly that all the Sotillo hermitages were built during the same period - firts half of the 18 century - and by that time the meaning of any religious connection would take the maximum importance.

The two remaining hermitages, Santa Ana and San Sebastian, are urban and it is worth pointing out that the first is located to the right of the Camino Real, which, coming from Cuéllar and Peñafiel, entered Sotillo, followed along the Mesón street, went down along the Calvario street and went out through the Prado bridgelet to go on to Burgos. It calls attention that San Sebastián is equally to the right of the said path leaving Sotillo


Ermitas


To find more about hiking routes in the area you can check Ruta del Vino Afluente Rural.