Senda del Aguacae (PRC-BU-160) — circular desde Fuentenebro

Fuentenebro is a municipality on the Burgos riverside whose origins go back to a date after the year 1000, since until that moment it was not possible to begin to repopulate the Riaza Basin. It is derived from its name that it was an area rich in junipers, a species of which some representation still remains today. Its territory was hidden under the sea millions of years ago, as attested by the marine fossils found in an area called La Peña, a nesting place for vultures. At the top of it there is a kind of viewpoint that would serve as a watchtower for the Castle of Torregalindo. The trail starts from the town of Fuentenebro, where you can visit the Church of San Lorenzo. We leave along the Camino de La Peña, flanked by thickets of wild rose bushes, on the front line, and rich riverside vegetation, especially poplars, whose presence is justified by the various streams that cross the area. We continue until we enter the Peña Flor Gorge, a very pleasant route among thorns and hawthorns with specimens of holm oak indifferent to the slope of the slopes that surround the pass. At the bottom of the gorge is the Aguacae spring waterfall, an idyllic place next to which is the mine of the same name. In the past, the company Silicatos Ibéricos exploited these mines for the extraction of quartz, montmorillonite (feldspar) and iron biotite (mica). These are the three main components of the granite that were not mixed in this area due to the absence of the geological phenomena necessary for it. Next, leave the path to La Peña and turn left at the crossroads. The landscape becomes more austere, you will pass through cultivated fields, with some scattered rose bushes, observing the slopes of the nearby moors covered by a thick mass of pine. A line of wind turbines outlines the peaks of the Sierra de Pradales that rise in the distance. The path itself forces us to turn to skirt the elevation called La Retuerta. Once again the vegetal scenario changes. Now we advance through a forest in which the pine is the dominant species with the presence of some holm oak. A small lagoon is left on the right, drawing attention to the strong red color of the water derived from the substrate. Little by little the thicket opens up as we descend to cover the last section of the path through a landscape dominated by cereal lands. The plain is shown as a wide expanse of patchwork in which reddish and brown tones alternate with green lines of varying intensity. If you look carefully, you will appreciate the passage through a Cañada Real, which linked the province of Burgos with Extremadura. With perseverance and courage we will walk the Camino de Pradales that will take us back to Fuentenebro, the end point of the trail. Information: Ribera del Duero in Buergalesa