The road of the Ruta de la Lana disappearing into the golden Castilian meseta
On the meseta · the road into the horizon

A Camino de Santiago for the few

The quietest way to Santiago

Over 400 km of silence, empty villages and burnt-gold meseta — from Monteagudo to Burgos along the old wool road. Fewer than 200 pilgrims walk it each year.

Why the Ruta de la Lana

A walk that gives you nothing, and returns everything

Of the twenty-odd waymarked routes to Santiago, this is the loneliest.

01

Solitary

If you believe that solitude, now and then, is a kind of bliss, you are on the right road.

02

Authentic

Scarce footfall has left the villages unchanged. Your passing is an event.

03

Silent

After a few days even your thoughts stop finding a way in.

04

Differently comfortable

Shelters tucked into surprising places — almost always empty, almost always yours alone.

The route

Monteagudo to Burgos, stage by stage

Seventeen stages north along the old transhumance road.

03Cuenca → Villar de Domingo GarcíaThe hanging city behind you, the high plain ahead28.5 km
07Viana de Mondéjar → CifuentesThe bullring shelter and a river to swim in23.6 km
10Sigüenza → AtienzaTwo medieval skylines, the castle-Parador on the ridge31.4 km
12Retortillo de Soria → Fresno de CaracenaThe Caracena canyon and its ruined castle23.9 km
17Mecerreyes → BurgosThe wool road meets the Camino Francés34.8 km

See all stages & shelters

Gallery

The road, in photographs

Photographs from the walk, July 2023 — Monteagudo to Burgos.

Gallery

Walking guide
Ruta
de la Lana
Monteagudo de las Salinas → Burgos · written stage by stage on the road

Aside — the guide

A walking guide, written on the road

Everything on this site grows out of a guidebook written stage by stage.

Italian guide · Amazon English guide — soon Spanish guide — soon

Questions about the route? Write to me · Facebook

The journal

Stories & practical notes from the Lana

Planning

Is the Ruta de la Lana right for you?

The loneliest Camino is a gift for some and a trial for others. An honest look before you commit.

Read more
Sleeping

Where to sleep: albergues & shelters

From a former bullring to a key kept by a neighbour: how accommodation really works.

Read more
Route

The complete stage guide

All 17 stages, the distances that matter, and where you can — and can't — find a bed.

Read more

Journal