The Area

This route runs along the old path that linked the villages of Fornillos de Fermoselle and Pinilla de Fermoselle. Forgotten for many years after the construction of the asphalted road, it has been restored and signposted to form part of the GR14. We will walk between curtains with stone walls and small valleys furrowed by streams, all surrounded by holm oaks, rockroses and junipers. It is not a flat route but its difficulty is minimal, ideal to go with the little ones or as a warm-up for longer walks.

Perhaps one of the most spectacular routes in the middle zone of the Arribes del Duero Park, especially the first 4 km between Pinilla de Fermoselle and the La Ribera stream. This section opens out into one of the great meanders of the Duero River and leaves two centuries-old olive groves, El Olivar Nuevo and El Olivar Viejo at its foot.

It gives the impression that we are walking just a few metres from the river and that Portugal is just a stone’s throw away, but try throwing a stone and you will realise the magnitude of the canyon that the river has been carving out over thousands of years.

From the windows of the living room of the rural house we can see the Ermita de San Miguel in the distance, in the mountain. This is the destination of our PR (small route or “pequeña ruta”). We will leave the house and head towards the old school of the village, next to the threshing floors, we will set off in search of the Barrero fountain. Here we will be able to drink water by activating the manual water pump, the water is drinkable. If we continue on we reach La Cruz and turning left, following the path through holm oaks, broom and rockroses, we reach the Ermita de San Miguel.

The hermitage has a beautiful bell brought from Cantabria and handmade by the master bell ringer Abel Portilla, who engraved the image of the patron saint of the village, San Miguel Arcángel, which can also be seen if we look out of the tiny window that the hermitage has under the bell tower.

We suggest you do the semi-circular route, following the red marks on the map on the way back, which start at the cross we left on the right on the way out, and which will lead us back to the village.

This walk takes us from the centre of the village to one of the park’s great viewpoints, La Peña del Cura. From this enclave we can see the Duero canyon and in front of it the Portuguese vineyards down to the river. If the streams run full, you will see two large waterfalls, the Cascada de Las Gorbias and the Cascada de La Ribera. On a clear day it is very likely that we will see groups of vultures nesting on the walls of the canyon gorges as well as a pair of golden eagles or a pair of Bonelli’s eagles, one of the few surviving specimens in Spain.

Going from CASA BALTASARA to the viewpoint of Peña del Cura is more than a route, it is an ideal walk to do with children or by bicycle. We like to extend it a little longer and go down to a granite rock that offers incredible views of the meander of the Duero River. But if you go with children or people with reduced mobility it is better to stay in the upper part next to the information panels, without a doubt a beautiful place to enjoy during the day or at night if there is a full moon.

Finally, just as you reach the Peña del Cura car park, there is a stone fountain with drinking water. And as an anecdote, next to the fountain, there is an informative poster with several photos of people from the village, among them and next to an olive tree are Benjamín Rodríguez and Baltasara Laguno, who has given the name to our rural house CASA BALTASARA.