Where wine is tasted and toured

Highlights: The wine routes of Arlanza and Ribera del Duero make up an authentic oenological sanctuary where you can discover vineyards, cereal fields and forests. El Camino del Cid covers the first days of the exile of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, el Cid, as recorded in the Cantar de mio Cid. In the province of Burgos is the Sad Hill Cemetery and the Betterville Camp, so the region allows you to remember the classic'spaghetti movie' in great detail.

If you are one of those who are looking for -or need- an excuse to pour yourself a glass of wine without feeling guilty and know your world, here we serve you one: wine not only educates the...

BY UE STUDIO

Updated Thursday,7September2023-13:28

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Send by email

If you are one of those who are looking for – or need – an excuse to pour yourself a glass of wine without feeling guilty and know your world, here we serve you one: wine not only educates taste, but also teaches geography and history.

Because south of Burgos, the wine routes of Arlanza and Ribera del Duero, which have more than 70 trails and paths, make up an authentic oenological sanctuary where you can discover vineyards, cereal fields and forests. On foot or by bicycle, the geography of Burgos welcomes all those who come to a unique, bucolic landscape, full of history and past and now, thanks to industries such as wine, they are also landscapes full of future.

The pilgrimage of wine in Burgos is attractive for the wineries and vineyards themselves, but it has an added value: its historical load. On the tour of Arlanza and Ribera del Duero there are prehistoric settlements, Roman sites, border castles, palaces, convents, collegiates, hermitages ... In Burgos, enjoying a good wine also means learning.

More than 70 trails to discover and from here we select five essential to know the secrets of the wine routes in Burgos:

1. El Camino del Cid

We said that wine also teaches history, and this itinerary covers the first days of the exile of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, el Cid, as recorded in the Cantar de mio Cid.

As it could not be otherwise, the tour begins in Vivar and ends in Atienza, already in the province of Guadalajara. Of the 20 stages of this historic trail, eight take place in Burgos territory, and are routes that can be done on foot and by bicycle and, for the most comfortable, has a variant to follow it by car or motorcycle. The Camino del Cid, as it passes through the Burgos territory of the D.O. Arlanza and Ribera del Duero, allows you to know medieval jewels such as Covarrubias, Santo Domingo de Silos, Caleruega and Peñaranda de Duero while enjoying the good food of this region: roast lamb, mycological surprises, trout and cod ... If you want to know more about the route, it has its own website: caminodelcid.org.

Information about El Camino del Cid

2. Mataviejas Gorge

This route of just over six kilometers connects the towns of Ura and Castroceniza, and during the journey you cross the great limestone canyon that carved the Mataviejas River. A rural route through a narrow rocky gorge suitable for the whole family.

This gorge allows you to know curious geomorphological formations, in addition to contemplating a great vegetation -mainly junipers and holm oaks- and fauna, especially Egyptian vultures and griffon vultures. A route that is completed on foot in just under an hour and a half and that, by bicycle, can be done in 30 minutes.

This route is located within the last protected natural area declared in Castilla y León: the Sabinares del Arlanza-La Yecla Natural Park. The rocky relief of the area, with large limestone cuts practically inaccessible, has favored the development of a varied and abundant population of birds of prey. Other animal species that inhabit the park are the wolf, the roe deer, the wild boar, the otter, the wildcat and the genet.

Mataviejas Canyon

3. Sad Hill Cemetery

Wine, history, geography... and cinema. This circular route of 16.5 kilometers runs through the places related to the recording of 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', the legendary film by Sergio Leone. The last of the dollar trilogy that featured the performance of Clint Eastwood.

In the province of Burgos is the Sad Hill Cemetery and the Betterville Prison Camp, so the region allows you to remember this classic of the 'spaghetti western' in great detail. A movie experience, if we were to take the topic, surrounded by great vegetation in all the valleys of the route.

The Sad Hill Cemetery, built for the filming of the final scene of this Leone western, is a work of cinematographic architecture built within the municipal limits of Contreras and Santo Domingo de Silos; meanwhile, in a location near Carazo is Betterville. In addition, this route allows you to know the Alto de la Copeta and visit the historic town of Santo Domingo de Silos.

Sad Hill Cemetery

4. Carrascal Wetlands

This path owes its existence to the action of the human being. How is this possible? Because this place was a point of extraction of materials and, once this activity was abandoned, nature did the rest: thanks to a water table and the loss of water from ditches, which have been flooding the old gravel pits, this route appeared that runs through permanent wetlands, refuge for the varied flora and fauna – it is a magnificent bird observatory – that inhabit these ecosystems.

The starting point -and arrival- to explore this natural wonder is Villalba de Duero, where you take the path from Eras de Abajo to the banks of the Douro River. The landscape evolves with the steps: it changes from orchards and agricultural land to an oak grove, continuing to the Cañada del Montecillo.

The shade provided by holm oaks, junipers and poplars make this trail ideal for hot days. As the route progresses, you lose sight of the Douro River and the wetlands appear. Towards Mount El Carrascal, populated by resin pines and holm oaks, history returns since in this place some trenches and galleries built during the Civil War are hidden.

5. The Aromatic

This is, for many, the path that best defines the Ribera del Duero. The layout of this route brings together, in a single one, almost all the variety of areas and landscapes that one can find in the Burgos region: countryside with vineyards, farms with almond trees, cereal fields and pine groves alternate with Mediterranean forests of holm oak and juniper, irrigated areas and walks along the Douro River and its riverside forest.

The trail begins in Fresnillo de las Dueñas, a town that owes its name to a medicinal plant similar to oregano that grew in the municipality, and continues its way to the banks of the Duero, where you can walk through a riverside forest formed by poplars, ashes, poplars, willows and alders.

But to continue knowing the region, the path advances between large irrigated farms, mainly dedicated to the cultivation of beet until reaching the mountain of Fresnillo. And from irrigated to rainfed, crops that appear next to some vineyards, almond trees and oak groves. This walk leads to Fuentespina, where the wineries appear one after the other forming a real network of alleys.

These are the five excuses among more than 70 trails to know, live and taste wine in the province of Burgos. Because the mouth and stomach can enjoy at the same time as the view.

https://turismoburgos.org/enoturismo/

Made by ue studio

This text has been developed by ue studio, creative branded content and content marketing firm of Unidad Editorial, for BURGOS, ORIGEN Y DESTINO.