CaminantesMontes de Oca: the forest climb to San Juan de Ortega
By August Frederik Kramer · Last updated 24 October 2026
Villafranca Montes de Oca. Dawn in the valley of the Oca, at 958 m. Behind the church and the old pilgrim hospital, the path climbs straight into the trees.
Mojapán. 1.4 km out: the Fuente de Mojapán, a fountain beside the path in the oak wood. You have already climbed 123 m and stand at 1,088 m.
Alto de la Pedraja. 3.5 km out, at 1,141 m. A stone memorial stands in the clearing. Ahead, the path drops 21 m into a little valley and climbs out the other side.
The top. The top of the day, 1,154 m, 5.0 km out: 229 of the day’s 245 m of climbing are behind you. From here a wide firebreak runs straight on through the pines.
San Juan de Ortega. 11.9 km from Villafranca and 149 m below the top. The first village since you set off: a hamlet around a Romanesque church.
11.9km from Villafranca
1,004m above sea level
Through the forest: 11.9 km with no village, and nearly all of the day’s 245 m of climbing in the first 5.0 km. The day goes on 6.3 km more to Atapuerca: day 12 from Saint-Jean, 504.2 km left to Santiago.
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Out of Villafranca Montes de Oca the Camino climbs straight into the forest. In the first 5.0 km you climb 229 m, 93% of the day’s climbing, to 1,154 m. Then come 11.9 km of oak and pine with no village at all, down to the monastery of San Juan de Ortega. The day goes on to Atapuerca, 18.2 km in all.
All the climbing comes first
The day is 18.2 km with 245 m of climbing on our plan, and almost all of it comes at once. From Villafranca, at 958 m on our profile, the path climbs 123 m in the first 1.4 km to Mojapán and goes on up to the Alto de la Pedraja, at 1,141 m. After a short drop of 21 m into a little valley it reaches the top of the day, 1,154 m, 5.0 km out. By then you have done 229 of the day’s 245 m, 93%. The next 6.9 km to San Juan de Ortega lose 149 m, gently, with almost no climbing.
11.9 km with no village
From Villafranca to San Juan de Ortega there is no village on the way: 11.9 km, measured between the places in our app’s list of settlements. It is all forest, oak at first and then planted pine, on a broad track. Fill your water bottle and buy food in Villafranca. After San Juan de Ortega the villages come close together again: Agés is 15.6 km from Villafranca, and Atapuerca, the end of the day, 18.2 km.
The memorial at La Pedraja
On the Alto de la Pedraja the Camino passes a memorial to the people shot in these hills at the start of the Spanish Civil War. In 2010 a mass grave was found beside the path, and that August the Aranzadi Society of Sciences exhumed the remains of 105 people killed between July and October 1936. A second grave, found in October 2011, raised the count to 135; only 23 have been identified. The inscription reads: “No fue inútil su muerte, fue inútil su fusilamiento”, “their death was not in vain; their shooting was”.
San Juan de Ortega and the light of the equinox
The hamlet is named after a saint who gave his life to the Camino. Juan de Velázquez, born in Quintanaortuño near Burgos in 1080, built roads and bridges for pilgrims, and here in the Montes de Oca he built a church dedicated to San Nicolás de Bari and a small monastery. He died on 2 June 1163, and the work went on after him. The church was declared a monument on 3 June 1931. Twice a year, at the equinoxes, on 21 March and 22 September, at five in the afternoon by the sun, a ray of light falls on one of its capitals, the one carved with the Annunciation.
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Villafranca Montes de Oca
On our plan you sleep in Villafranca the night before the forest. The village stands on the river Oca, strung along the main road. Its pilgrim hospital, of San Antonio Abad, dates from 1380, and its church of Santiago Apóstol from the end of the 18th century. At the church door a giant clam shell, a Tridacna gigas of about 65 kg, serves as the holy water font.
The day in figures
On our plan of the Camino Francés this is day 12 of 36 from Saint-Jean, and day 5 from Logroño: Villafranca Montes de Oca to Atapuerca, 18.2 km with 245 m of climbing and 251 m of descent. Atapuerca is 504.2 km from Santiago, 24 days to go. The next day runs to Burgos, 18.4 km with 117 m of climbing.
Starting in the Rioja: the Camino from Logroño, day by day.
Earlier on the way, the town of the hen and the cock: Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
The day after, the city, its cathedral and the meseta beyond: the Camino from Burgos.
Every stage of the Francés, one by one: the stages guide.
Distances, heights, climbs and days are measured on our track of the Camino Francés, the same rows the Logroño page prints; Mojapán and its fountain, the Alto de la Pedraja, the memorial and the monastery are placed on that track from OpenStreetMap, and the stretch with no village is measured between the places in our app’s list of settlements. The hospital, the church, the clam shell and the memorial’s inscription are from the Spanish Wikipedia on Villafranca Montes de Oca; the graves at La Pedraja, their dates and their count from the article on Antoni Benaiges; the saint, his dates, his church and the light of the equinox from the article on San Juan de Ortega.
Common questions
How far is it from Villafranca Montes de Oca to San Juan de Ortega?
11.9 km on our track, with no village in between. The day on our plan goes on to Atapuerca, 18.2 km in all.
Is the climb out of Villafranca hard?
It is the steep part of the day: 229 m of climbing in the first 5.0 km, 123 m of it in the first 1.4 km. After the top, at 1,154 m, the way to San Juan de Ortega runs gently downhill.
Is there anywhere to stop between Villafranca and San Juan de Ortega?
There is no village: the 11.9 km run through forest. Carry water and food from Villafranca.
What is the memorial at La Pedraja?
A memorial to the people shot in these hills in 1936, at the start of the Spanish Civil War. Two mass graves found beside the path in 2010 and 2011 held the remains of 135 people.
What happens at San Juan de Ortega at the equinox?
On 21 March and 22 September, at five in the afternoon by the sun, a ray of light falls on a capital in the church carved with the Annunciation.
Keep reading
Atapuerca: the oldest Europeans, and the cross above Burgos
Walk from San Juan de Ortega over the stony sierra to the cross above Burgos, then dig down through the caves of the oldest Europeans, one find at a time. Atapuerca to Burgos: 18.4 km.
What to see in Santiago de Compostela after you arrive
The old town is smaller than it looks: every stop here is within 899 m of Km 0 on foot. Pick 2, 4 or 6 hours and walk the squares, the market and the two views.
Camino de Santiago movies and books, on the real map
The Way, Kerkeling, Buen camino and a documentary all start in Saint-Jean. Pick one and watch its walk draw on our measured map, with the km, days and climb.
Take it with you
Caminantes is free, works offline, and plans your stages around your own legs rather than a guidebook's.
