Belorado to San Juan de Ortega
Solitude
- Distance
- 23.9 km
- Climb
- 430 m up, 193 m down
- Ground
- 770 to 1,150 m
- Time
- 6 to 7 hours
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Underfoot
- dirt, forest, mountain
Where this day sits on the Camino Francés
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 33 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
The Montes de Oca is the first true wilderness since the Pyrenees. Dense oak and beech forest closes around you, and for long stretches there is no one else on the trail. The monastery at San Juan de Ortega sits in a clearing like a place that chose to be forgotten. Twice a year, at the equinox, a beam of light illuminates a carved scene of the Annunciation. Something about this place — its silence, its hiddenness — invites you to sit with your own solitude without flinching.
What pilgrims often meet here
- Walking alone through dense forest for hours
- Unease followed by deep peace in the wilderness
- The stark simplicity of the monastery albergue
- Garlic soup served by hospitaleros in the evening
What is the difference between being alone and being lonely?
The ground
Crosses the Montes de Oca — a forested mountain range. The monastery of San Juan de Ortega has a famous equinox light phenomenon.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Belorado depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
In Pilgrim's Honor mode you can walk this stage as it is drawn here, and save its maps for days with no signal. The morning opens with this day's word, Solitude, and its story. When you arrive, it asks the question above, and you can answer out loud. Your walk stays on your phone.
With Pilgrim on your phone, this opens the stage, ready to begin. Without it, you'll see the stage and where to get the app.