The Alto de la Pedraja marks the highest point of the Montes de Oca crossing. Picnic tables at the top offer a rest. The forest continues on both sides.
Along the climb you'll pass a monument to a group of men from Burgos whose bodies were dumped here after their execution during the Spanish Civil War. These roadside memorials appear periodically across northern Spain — quiet reminders of a conflict whose scars are still raw.
The descent from the alto continues through forest toward San Juan de Ortega. The path intersects with ATV trails at several points — follow the yellow arrows carefully. Like the river valleys of Navarra, this dense woodland was once a favorite haunt of bandits preying on pilgrims.
20. September 2026 - 10:03
Dr P, aka Capitán del Cafe has great coffee, watermelon, bananas as water. Also sells hand painted shells and poetry. Very nice man— stop and chat with him!
1. June 2026 - 9:24
Still there beginning of June 2026
25. May 2026 - 10:12
On the way down
14. May 2026 - 16:52
Well past the summit, on the mostly-flat part pf the road through the forest (following the descent), at the intersection of two dirt/gravel roads.
16. September 2025 - 7:49
Small kiosk selling watermelon juice and coffee as well as banana. Around 2 or 3km from Alto de la Pedraja. Was here around 7.45am
29. May 2024 - 18:59
Small food truck here yesterday, about 5km up from Villafranca. Soft drinks for sale.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.