Valcaba: Camino a Busquemao, Nature and Culture

The Camino a Busquemao begins in Valcaba de Soba; nature, hiking and rural history can be experienced at named locations in Soba and the Valle de Soba. When choosing a holiday apartment in Valcaba, nature, hiking and culture can be considered as distinct areas of focus. This connection is particularly vivid at the beginning of the Camino a Busquemao: The route starts in Valcaba de Soba and leads to the traditional Cabañales of Busquemao.

Nature

Los Collados del Asón Nature Park lies entirely within the municipality of Soba and encompasses limestone outcrops, small beech forests, Cantabrian holm oak stands and pastures created by human activity. The nearby nature park visitor centre in La Gándara provides information panels and an audiovisual presentation. It also offers information about guided and self-guided visits.

At Monte Los Sotos, a route starting from Valcaba leads into an oak forest dominated by Pyrenean oaks, botanically known as Quercus pyrenaica. This activity includes a visit to a small waterfall formed on the Argumal River. Monte Los Sotos is considered a habitat for deer, foxes, badgers and squirrels.

Hiking

The Camino a Busquemao is a 10.5-kilometre circular hiking trail with 530 metres of elevation gain and a moderate difficulty level. The highest point of the route is Rellano del Polvo at an altitude of 1,100 metres; the Club Alpino de Sestao’s mountain shelter is located there. The information on distance, elevation gain and difficulty provides different reference points for personal planning.

The Camino a Busquemao also leads to a beech forest on the Argumal River. The Carricueta section offers panoramic views of the Valle de Soba and the mountain massif locally known as Len de Valcaba. Len de Valcaba is considered a typical Hazas formation with distinctive stepped slopes created by alternating layers of limestone and sandstone.

Getting Around

A mountain-bike route through the Valle de Soba passes through Valcaba and continues to La Gándara.

Culture and History

The Camino a Busquemao route follows an old path that connected Soba with the province of Burgos. Llaguio is a traditional Cabañal used for livestock farming. In a death record written in Valcaba on 18 February 1796, Jean Gabriel Coulon stated that he served as a French priest in the parish of Valcaba.

The Church of San Juan Bautista dates largely from the 16th century; traces of the 15th century can still be seen on the triumphal arch. Casa de los Zorrilla de la Concha was already mentioned in 1680 as a “torre y casa llana mayor” and bears two coats of arms of the Zorrilla de la Concha family.

The villages of the Valle de Soba include a notable group of 16th-century rural houses characteristic of the region. Casa de los Ortiz de la Torre is also a house bearing a coat of arms.

Other places: Regules, Cañedo, Carriazo, Casamaría, La Maza, Pumareña, Trasvia, Herada

For the overarching travel overview: Cantabria.