The town and the canyons that were Miguel Delibes' refuge from Burgos
The centenary of the writer's birth invites you to explore the Castilian landscapes that he loved so much, in the Sedano Valley, the place of his recreation, and in Valladolid, where he lived
In the north of the province of Burgos, in the vicinity of the canyons of the river Ebro and the Rudrón , Miguel Delibes (1920-2010) fell in love with Sedano , a valley that, thanks to its location next to the Cantabrian mountain range, has mild summers . Next to the Moradillo river , which runs through the town of Sedano, his girlfriend was enjoying her cool summer and, while he came to visit her, he was irretrievably in love with that rural Spain and its landscapes.
The seventeenth century stone house that he made his home continues to be a family plot, while the streets of the urban center remain indelible in some of his works and in the Miguel Delibes residential complex , which has apartments and rooms. It is also a cultural and social meeting point, as it is one of the headquarters of the University of Burgos, and as an Interpretation Center of the life and work of Miguel Delibes, with the library that collects his work or the films that were inspired by the themselves.
Delibes felt not only part of a family, but of a territory. That was where "I began to realize, then, that being from the town was a gift from God and that being from the city was a bit like being inclusive ...".
These are some of the most outstanding places to which the writer looked.
Sedano, between mansions and palaces
The quiet village of Sedano, presided over by the church on top of a rocky promontory, is the starting point of this route. But first, it is convenient to wander among its remarkable mansions or in the Torre de los Gallo palace , from the 16th century. We go up the course of the Moradillo river to the upper area where the lake district is located, so known because the river, together with a medieval bridge and an old river mill, creates abundant waterfalls in the rainy season.
You have to go to Gredilla de Sedano, in the center of the valley, to admire its Romanesque church, with a beautiful façade, and the Bocanegra palace, with its tower of ashlars that gives it the appearance of a fortress. The noble coat of arms of the family of Italian origin that erected it remains on its façade.
Ebro canyon
The river makes its way towards the Castilian plateau cutting a gap in the rock, which carves a passage of gorges and canyons. Riverside forest next to the river and moorland covered with holm oaks, oaks and pine forests on the summit serve to unite the Atlantic world with the Mediterranean to the north of Burgos through a striking panorama. Not only do you have to look out from the viewpoints of the natural park, but also explore the paths, such as the one that leads from Pesquera de Ebro to Orbaneja del Castillo for 15 kilometers or the one on the Ebro GR-99 Nature Trail that guides us without loss , not only in the area but to the very mouth of the great river.
Castle Orbaneja
To admire one of the most exceptional waterfalls in our country, you have to look for the town of Orbaneja del Castillo. With their liquid beauty and the stone dwellings around the castle and church they create a photogenic urban ensemble of medieval architecture dotted with pools and singing waterfalls. Before leaving, the trails are once again a good opportunity to enjoy being in contact with nature. Like the one that leads on a circular route to the thirty shepherd's huts located on the limestone moor. The simplicity of the stones stacked dry to build such pastoral shelters that evoke so much prehistoric constructions is striking.
Rudrón canyon
The tributary of the Ebro creates to deliver its waters a canyon whose path we cross through a deep gorge that can lead us to Valdelateja, where its waters meet. One of the most colorful sections is drawn between Hoyos del Tozo and Moradillo del Castillo , where we follow the river course in a section of canyon whose walls reach up to 300 meters. We leave the town with its church with an attractive Romanesque façade, half-buried on the banks of the river, to take the path from the mill to the dam. From there, a path that runs alongside an old light factory goes deep into the canyon, offering magnificent views until we cover the seven kilometers that separate us from Moradillo del Castillo.
Covanera Blue Well
On the outskirts of the town of Covanera, in the Rudrón Valley, awaits a mysterious cavity that rises to the surface through the Blue Well. An upwelling of water that, when it rises to the surface, creates a lagoon of turquoise waters that intensifies as the depth increases and in whose transparency the trout swim. It is the entry point to a karst underground complex whose galleries extend up to 13 kilometers, placing it among the most outstanding underwater cavities in Europe. Returning to the town, descending through the canyon carved by its waters until we find the Rudrón, we can see in the cliffs the traditional hives of the valley under the calcareous rock outcrops.
Mr. Cayo y Cortiguera
The rural nucleus where the film based on the work of Miguel Delibes "The disputed vote of Señor Cayo" was filmed, starring Paco Rabal, today looks lonely and abandoned in the middle of the moorland and its climatic rigors, near the edge of the canyon of the Ebro. It is impressive even seeing only the ruins of its old manor houses, home to neighbors who lived from livestock as well as the cultivation of cereals and legumes. The isolation motivated its neighbors to abandon it in the 1960s.
The megalithic dolmens
The landscape of the Sedano valley and the surroundings of the páramo de la Lora is dotted with megalithic footprints, witnesses to the ancient settlement of the area and the spiritual beliefs of its first inhabitants. It is one of the best European megalithic complexes, spread over elevated areas and towns such as Moradillo de Sedano, with the Las Arnillas dolmen, the most spectacular next to El Moreco, in the vicinity of Huidobro, or Valdemuriel, in Tubilla del Water, in the Rudrón valley. The dolmen of La Cotorrita, in Porquera de Butrón, on an elevation of the ground, is a collective burial place in the form of a sepulcher with a corridor that leads to a protected chamber with large stone slabs of 8,000 years old.
Archaic treasures
Archaic temples such as the Visigothic hermitage of Santa Centola and Elena are witnesses of the splendor and roots of the religious beliefs that these Castilian lands lived, to which it is convenient to ascend, in the vicinity of Valdelateja, along a path that leads to the abandoned town of Siero , to enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of the Ebro and Rudrón canyons. No less attractive is the mysterious medieval history of Quintanilla Escalada, a town that grew up next to the suspension bridge over the Ebro river. Old houses with medieval details speak of its distant strength associated with the transit of the road.
