From Granon to Villafranca Montes de Oca, Camino Frances, Stage no. 10

Basic Information

Starting Point: Grañón, Spain – A charming village with roughly 250 inhabitants, famous for its warm hospitality, historic church, and a donation based albergue with unmistakable atmosphere.
Ending Point: Villafranca Montes de Oca, Spain – A small village with roughly 120 inhabitants, a grocery store, restaurant, pilgrim albergue, and nice view of Montes de Oca mountain range. Apart from the albergue you will find a few private accommodation options in the village.
Availability of an alternative route: Not really. Even the EV3 cycling route (following us for many stages of our way now) copies exactly the Camino Frances route today.
Distance: Main route: 27.5 km (Download GPS here)
Online Map: here.
Elevation Difference: +440 m ascent, -230 m descent
Difficulty Score: 3/5
Beauty Score: 2/5
Terrain/Asphalt Walking Ratio: 60% trails, 40% asphalt/paved roads/right next to the road.
Next stage: Camino Frances Stage no. 11, Villafrance Montes de Oca – Burgos.
Previous stage: Camino Frances, Stage no. 9, Azofra – Granon.

Elevation profile for the stage

– As you can see, except of the descent from Granon (the beginning of today’s stage), we’re mostly climbing all the way to Villafranca Montes de Oca, located close to 950 meters above sea level. Having said that, the climb gradient is very moderate, with vast majority between 1%-3%. What I try to say here is that climbing 200 meters on 10 kilometers isn’t really a hard climb, and you’ll be fine with the strength and endurance you’ve built so far on the camino.

Advanced Info About the Stage

Trail Marking: Very clear with the route always obvious, and basically no way of getting lost.
Natural Places Worth Seeing: The only place worth a special mention is on the very end of the stage. The beautiful hiking area around Villafranca, with waterfall, beautiful rock formations, caves, and a peaceful water reservoir Presa de Alba, located above Villafranca, is the place tourists and hikers visit when staying in the village. If you still have some strength, this hike is worth making in the afternoon (or early morning the next day) and will easily be one of the highlights of your camino. I mapped for you the route here, and you can check some locations, pictures, and reviews on Google maps here and here. The circuit I mapped for you has 12 kilometers, but obviously you can make a much shorter one, for example walking only to the waterfall and rock formations and then back to Villafranca, which will make it only 6 km immediately…
Historical, Architectural, and Culinary Places Worth Seeing:
- Radio communication museum in Belorado. One of a kind museum you can see on this camino. Prepare for all kinds of radios and telephones, but also for a tank and a helicopter :). You have to make a reservation one day before, filling the form you can find here. Officially they accept visits of 6 people at least, and all tours are guided. But from what I heard they can make an exception. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
- The Monastery of Santa Clara, Belorado. A peaceful place on the edge of town, just 100 meters detour from the Camino. Open daily from 9am to 5pm. This convent dating back to 14th century is definitely worth the visit, even though there is some controversy around it. You can buy great high-quality chocolate the nuns make right in the monastery. And who would not enjoy a piece of great chocolate on the camino? ;). Location and reviews on Google maps here.
- Ermita de la virgen de la Pena: A small hermitage built into the cliff, clearly visible from the camino, and about 300 meters detour if you want to see it from close. Sometimes closed and sometimes open, it is a nice spot for a short rest nevertheless. Location on Google maps here.
Camping/Bivouac Options on the Stage: You won’t find any organized camping place on today’s stage. If you want to wild-camp, your best bet is the beautiful hiking area near the ending point of today’s stage. That’s the zone of the water reservoir Embalse de Alba. You will find many good spots for the tent, some of them nicely hidden. You can just look around this location here. It’s a viewpoint from where you can see the surroundings clearly and pick your spot.
Dog-Friendly Score: 2/5. Everything is rather dry on this stage, you’re close to the road, or directly on it, and there is little shade except of the very end. It isn’t really the best stage for a pilgrim with dog… What improves the situation a bit is the wild camping area I suggested just above, with plenty of shade and clear water where you dog can chill and cool down. Also the albergue San Anton in Villafranca Montes de Oca accepts dogs–should you prefer to sleep inside. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
Special Remarks: Today we cross the border between the Spanish provinces of La Rioja and Castilla y Leon. So you’ve already covered Navarre and Rioja, and have two more provinces ahead of you on the Camino – Castilla y Leon and Galicia. Enjoy the mountains on your left, because soon we’ll enter “the Meseta”, and the flattest section of the camino, devoid of almost any vegetation, will begin.

My picks for accommodation on this stage

Albergue Essentia, Redecilla del Camino (km 4): A great option if you actually do not want to stay in Granon. Just 4 km on, you’ll find this albergue run by a wonderful host, with piano and guitar, 10 beds only, and a delicious communal dinner. 14 euro/night, dinner is extra 11 euro, breakfast extra 3 euro. Check-in from 1pm. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
Casa las Almas, Espinosa (km 24). A special small place, with only 5 beds (single, no bunk), run by German hosts (former pilgrims). You will feel like at home in this albergue. 12 euro/night plus 12 euro dinner, and 4 euro breakfast, all top quality. They have garden as well and typically let you camp there if the beds are already occupied. Opened all year long, except of Christmas, check-in from noon. Location and reviews on Google maps here. Some people consider the house rules a bit strict, so remember the place is tun by Germans–if you decide to stay, that’s something to count with :).
Albergue San Anton, Villafranca Montes de Oca (km 27.5): 50 beds in three rooms, plus private room options. Nice place in a historic building, in the premises of a three star hotel (if you’re in for a bit of luxury and at the same time want to stay close to pilgrims, you may opt for a hotel room instead of a bunk). 15 euro/night, you can have a menu for dinner for additional 18 euro, but do not have to (it is optional). Early check-in from 10:30 already, ideal if you plan your stages differently, make a short walk here, and want to walk to the hiking area near the beautiful water reservoir south of the city (see natural places worth seeing section above). Location and reviews on Google maps here.

Pictures from the stage

– The camino isn’t always beautiful… The more we approach central parts of Camino Frances and the Meseta, the more abandoned places and rather dilapidated villages we will find.
– The streets of Belorado, empty during most of the day. This place lives almost entirely from pilgrims, like many small places along this section of the Camino.
– Long way to go to Santiago still… But we go step by step 🙂– The nice peaceful village of Villafranca Montes de Oca, with beautiful natural surroundings.

Few Tips at the End

If you can afford it, make a detour to the nature around Villafranca Montes de Oca. Camino isn’t a competition. Or at least it shouldn’t be… If you have spare time, consider visiting the nature around Villafranca (see natural places worth seeing section for more details). It will do for a free day, or even for a longer afternoon walk without a heavy backpack. With flat Meseta just in front of you, with endless straight roads and no trees, it is refreshing seeing forests, waterfall, and beautiful rock formations above the village.