Nájera and the legend of the cave

Nájera is where the long day out of Logroño ends: 29.3 km through the vineyards of La Rioja, with 376 m of climbing. Almost all of it, 373 m, is behind you at the Alto de San Antón, 21.1 km out; the last 8.2 km run down to the river Najerilla and a town under red cliffs, where a king once followed his falcon into a cave. 578.2 km to go.

All the climbing comes first

The day from Logroño is long, 29.3 km on our plan, but it is not steep. It rises gently through the vineyards past Navarrete and Ventosa to the Alto de San Antón, at 658 m on our profile, 21.1 km out. By then you have done 373 of the day’s 376 m of climbing, 99%. The last 8.2 km lose 171 m on the way down to Nájera, so the end of the day is easier than its length suggests.

The legend of the cave

Nájera’s monastery has a founding story. According to the legend, in 1044 King García Sánchez III of Pamplona was hunting when his falcon chased a partridge into a cave. Following them in, he found a small chapel in the rock with an image of the Virgin, a lamp, a bell and a jar of lilies, and the two birds at its feet, side by side. The king took it as a sign and founded a church over the cave. The jar of lilies became the emblem of the monastery, and García founded an order of knights named after it, the Order of the Jarra, or Terraza.

Santa María la Real

The first church was consecrated on 12 December 1052. The church you see today is later: Gothic, built between 1422 and 1453. Its choir stalls were carved between 1493 and 1495, and the cloister, built between 1517 and 1528, is called the Cloister of the Knights because so many nobles chose to be buried there. Under the choir opens the cave where the image is believed to have appeared, and where it has stayed since. The church also holds the royal pantheon of the kings of Nájera-Pamplona, with twelve tombs; the tomb of Doña Blanca of Navarre is a 12th-century Romanesque work.

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Nájera, between the rocks

Nájera stands on the river Najerilla, under a wall of red rock. Its Arabic name was Náxara, which some sources explain as “place between rocks”. After 923 it gave its name to a kingdom, the Kingdom of Nájera, and its kings were buried in the monastery. On the Camino, it is where most people sleep after the long day from Logroño, and the next morning the way climbs out past the cliffs toward Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

The day in figures

On our plan of the Camino Francés this is day 8 of 36 from Saint-Jean: Logroño to Nájera, 29.3 km with 376 m of climbing and 265 m of descent. Nájera is 190.4 km from Saint-Jean and 578.2 km from Santiago, 28 days to go. The next day runs to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 21.7 km with 370 m of climbing.

Starting in the Rioja: the Camino from Logroño, day by day.

The next day ends at the chicken that crowed: Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

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 Logroño page prints; Navarrete, Ventosa, the Alto de San Antón and the monastery are placed on that track from OpenStreetMap. The legend’s king, year, cave and objects, the dates of the church, the stalls and the cloister, and the cave under the choir are from the Spanish Wikipedia on Santa María la Real; the partridge, and the two birds at the image’s feet, from Senditur’s page on the monastery; the twelve royal tombs, Doña Blanca’s, and the way into the cave from the church from Spain’s tourism site; the town, its name, the kingdom and the Order of the Jarra from the article on Nájera. The legend is a legend: no document records the hunt.

Common questions

How far is it from Logroño to Nájera?

29.3 km on our track, with 376 m of climbing and 265 m of descent. It is one of the longer days of the Francés, but not a steep one.

Where is the hardest part of the day?

The climb to the Alto de San Antón, 21.1 km out. By the top you have done 373 of the day’s 376 m of climbing; the last 8.2 km are mostly downhill.

What is the legend of Nájera?

In 1044, the story goes, King García Sánchez III followed his falcon, which was chasing a partridge, into a cave, and found an image of the Virgin with a lamp, a bell and a jar of lilies. He founded the monastery of Santa María la Real over the cave.

Can you see the cave?

Yes. The cave opens beneath the choir of the church of Santa María la Real, and visitors reach it from inside the church.

How far is Nájera from Santiago?

578.2 km on our track of the Camino Francés, 28 days on our stage plan.

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