Castrillo del Val – Churches, Pilgrimage Routes and Nature

The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route runs through the municipality and town centre of Castrillo del Val in Castilla y León. This makes the town a destination where pilgrimage traditions, religious architecture and landscapes come together.

Culture and History

The Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña belongs to the locality of Castrillo del Val and preserves Romanesque remains, including the tower and the Martyrs’ Cloister from the 12th century. The monastery church of the Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña dates from the 16th century; the Capilla del Cid is attached to it.

The Iglesia de Santa Eugenia is a Neoclassical church with a basilica-style floor plan. Its interior is divided into three sections supported by transverse arches. The square tower has three sections separated by cornices and was built at the beginning of the 17th century.

The Iglesia de San Juan Bautista is a Renaissance church from the 16th century with a Latin cross floor plan. It stands outside the town centre on the Alto Castillejo.

You can also access the following places from this selection: Oña, Hedeso, Agüera, Villanueva de Lastra, Arija, Alarcia, Zuzones and Orbaneja del Castillo.

Pilgrimage Routes and Tradition

The Camino del Cid route leads to the Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña, which, according to the tradition of the Cantar, is associated with Jimena and the former burial place of El Cid and his wife. Their remains were transferred to Burgos Cathedral in the 20th century.

On the road route of the Camino del Cid, the route runs from Burgos via Cardeñajimeno to the Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña. Within the municipality of Castrillo del Val, only the final 350 metres of the Camino Francés remain. You can consider the different routes and sections separately when planning.

When comparing holiday apartments in Castrillo del Val, you can check travel dates, accommodation category and cancellation conditions side by side on the offer pages. For your planning, churches, pilgrimage routes, riverbanks and geological topics can be weighted separately.

Nature and Landscape

The section of the Arlanzón near Castrillo del Val is home to protected otters and European mink and lies within the LIC de las riberas del Arlanzón. The banks of the Arlanzón near Cardeñajimeno and Castrillo del Val are in very good condition; the alluvial forest is well preserved there.

The palaeontological site of snail fossils from the Middle to Upper Miocene near Castrillo del Val (DU034) is primarily of palaeontological interest and secondarily of mineralogical and stratigraphic geological interest.

A footpath leads to the area of the Cuevas de Castrillo del Val and its caves, including one cave formed in a collapse doline.

The undergrowth of Monte de Castrillo includes kermes oak, Spanish broom, wild madder plants, blackthorn, hawthorn and isolated Pyrenean oaks (Quejigos).

For the higher-level travel overview: Burgos.