Santo Domingo to Belorado: into Castilla

Out of Santo Domingo de la Calzada the Camino crosses the last of La Rioja and walks into Castilla y León: 22.2 km to Belorado with 321 m of climbing on our track. The line between the two regions falls 8.5 km out, between Grañón and Redecilla del Camino. On the way, 5 villages, and the first is the farthest: 6.5 km to Grañón.

Where La Rioja ends

On our track the border falls 8.5 km from Santo Domingo, 2.0 km after Grañón and 1.8 km before Redecilla del Camino, at 734 m. Of the 22.2 km to Belorado, 8.5 km are in La Rioja and 13.7 km in Castilla y León. The way itself is older than the line: Santo Domingo himself took the Camino off the old Roman road and led it towards Burgos through Grañón and Redecilla.

A village every few kilometres

After Grañón the villages come close together: Redecilla del Camino, Castildelgado, Viloria de Rioja and Villamayor del Río, 5 villages in all before Belorado. The longest stretch without one is the first, 6.5 km from Santo Domingo to Grañón. They are small: 98 people in Redecilla, 34 in Castildelgado and 38 in Viloria in the latest census. In Redecilla, the church of the Virgen de la Calle holds the font, one of the most elaborate Romanesque fonts on the whole Camino: its cup is 110 cm across and carved as a walled city, with windows in four tiers and eight round towers. Viloria is where Domingo García, later Santo Domingo de la Calzada, was born in 1019; he died in 1109 in the town that took his name. The climb is gentle and long: from 644 m in Santo Domingo up to the day’s highest point, 823 m, 19.8 km out, then down 47 m in the last 2.4 km into Belorado.

Belorado under its cliff

After villages of a few dozen people, Belorado, with 1,823, feels like a town. It sits at the foot of a hill of red rock. On top stand the remains of its castle, once a frontier fortress against Navarre and now little more than an earthen wall. The rock below is cut with caves, the caves of San Caprasio, where legend says the saint lived as a hermit. The church of Santa María stands right under the hill and has a chapel to Santiago. In 1116 Alfonso I gave the town a charter and a fair, which the Spanish Wikipedia calls the oldest documented fair in Spain.

Know these words before your Camino. Spanish is preparation, the same as boots and stages. Try the free topic

The day in figures

On our plan of the Camino Francés you leave Santo Domingo on day 10 of 36 from Saint-Jean, and the plan takes two days, 34.2 km together, to Villafranca Montes de Oca, where the Montes de Oca page starts on day 12. Walked in one go, Santo Domingo to Belorado is 22.2 km with 321 m of climbing and 189 m of descent. From Belorado it is 12.0 km on to Villafranca, with 203 m of climbing. From Belorado, 534.3 km to Santiago.

The town you start from: Santo Domingo de la Calzada and its cock and hen.

The day after Belorado, in pictures: the Montes de Oca, the forest climb from Villafranca.

Every stage of the Francés, one by one: the stages guide.

Distances, climbs and days are measured on our track of the Camino Francés, the same rows the Santo Domingo and Montes de Oca pages print. The villages and the churches are placed on that track from OpenStreetMap, and the border is OpenStreetMap’s line between La Rioja and Castilla y León, where it crosses the track. Which region each village is in is from OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim. Grañón and its church are from the Spanish Wikipedia on Grañón, the font and the census from the articles on Redecilla del Camino, Castildelgado and Viloria de Rioja, Santo Domingo’s birth and death from the Viloria article and the English Wikipedia on him, and Belorado, its castle, caves, church and charter from the Spanish Wikipedia on Belorado.

Common questions

How far is it from Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado?

22.2 km on our track, with 321 m of climbing and 189 m of descent.

Where does La Rioja end on the Camino Francés?

Between Grañón and Redecilla del Camino, 8.5 km from Santo Domingo on our track. Grañón is the last village in La Rioja and Redecilla the first in Castilla y León.

Is Viloria de Rioja in La Rioja?

No. Despite its name, Viloria de Rioja is in the province of Burgos, in Castilla y León. It is the village where Santo Domingo de la Calzada was born.

Are there villages between Santo Domingo and Belorado?

Yes, 5: Grañón, Redecilla del Camino, Castildelgado, Viloria de Rioja and Villamayor del Río. The longest stretch without one is the first, 6.5 km to Grañón.

Is the stage from Santo Domingo to Belorado hard?

It is long and gentle. You climb slowly from 644 m to 823 m, 19.8 km out, and come down into Belorado at the end. There is no steep climb.

Keep reading

Take it with you

Caminantes is free, works offline, and plans your stages around your own legs rather than a guidebook's.

All guides · Compare all 10 Camino de Santiago routes