Discover Borobia: Nature, Culture and Stargazing

At full moon, El Rayo de Luna in Borobia combines observing the moon’s surface through telescopes with a poetry recital and a reading of a legend by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer.

Culture

The Ermita Ntra. Sra. de Todos los Santos is considered to be a building dating from 1200 and was apparently rebuilt in the 18th century. The Ermita de Nuestra Señora de los Santos is surrounded by the Huerta de la Virgen botanical garden, which is home to European trees and plants. Borobia is also home to the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, built in the 16th century in the Late Gothic style and incorporating early forms of the Plateresque style.

The ruins of the Castillo Medieval de Borobia preserve remains of walls, paving and masonry; it was a residence of the Castilian marshals Luna and Arellano. The Carnaval de los Zarrones is a deeply rooted historical pastoral tradition and part of Borobia’s cultural and ethnographic heritage; during it, the Zarrones parade through the town and throw straw at people who provoke them. Borobia is one of the municipalities in the province of Soria that produces Mantequilla de Soria, which is considered a product with a protected designation of origin.

Nature

The Río Manubles rises in Borobia’s Dehesa del Tablado. The area’s forests include holm oaks, Portuguese oaks, oaks, junipers and rockroses; broom and juniper shrubs also grow in the undergrowth. Laguna Gandalia is located in a former mine and is recommended for birdwatching and recreation.

The Sabinar de Ciria y Borobia combines junipers, Portuguese oak and Montpellier maple in its wetlands. There, the Río Manubles forms a gorge with numerous caves inhabited by griffon vultures.

Trails

The GR-260 Vuelta al Moncayo, also known as Calcenada, runs for 14 km through the municipality of Borobia and can be covered by mountain bike, on foot or on horseback. The GR-86 Soriano crosses Borobia from north to south, starting in La Cueva de Ágreda and ending in Ciria. The PR-95 Ruta de las Yeseras is a short local circular route from Borobia to former gypsum works on the border with Aragón.

A guided route through the Sabinar de Ciria and the Río de las Cuevas gorge runs between Borobia and Ciria. For planning your own trip, these trails can be compared by length, route and mode of travel.

Other places:Villar Del Río, Buitrago, Barahona, Vinuesa, Los Villares De Soria, Serón de Nágima, Abejar and Cubilla.

Observation

The Observatorio de Borobia offers guided visits during the day and at night, with online booking. During the guided daytime observation, the sun is viewed through two different telescopes: the Coyote telescope, a 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a Thousand Oaks filter for observing the photosphere, and the 72 mm Icaro solar telescope for observing the chromosphere, or lower atmosphere.

Astrosenderismo por el Moncayo combines hikes in the area around Borobia with identifying constellations with the naked eye and learning about orientation at night. A historic 1.5-hour double hike organized by the observatory leads through Borobia to Mina Gandalia and the Huerta de la Virgen; it is offered exclusively to groups of more than 20 people and to schools. Along the way, participants explore the Gandalia iron mine with its 60-metre-deep lake, the botanical surroundings of the Ermita de la Virgen with Celtiberian influences, and the history of Borobia, where Tristán de Luna y Arellano, the conqueror and first governor of Florida, was born.

For the main travel overview: Soria.