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Participate in a route full of history, we present this Imperial Route, the same one that Emperor Charles V followed in 1556 from Laredo to go to his retirement at the Monastery of Yuste.
After his abdication in 1556, Charles I of Spain and V of Germany, began a route from Flanders to Laredo, where he disembarked on September 28 of the same year, to, from here, head to the region of La Vera, in Extremadura. Charles V suffered from gout and, apparently, the climate and tranquility of La Vera were presented as a good place for his cure.
On February 3, 1557, Charles V arrived at his destination, staying in the Monastery that he himself had ordered to be built: the Monastery of Yuste. He remained there until his death in September 1558.
Imagine passing through the places where the Emperor passed, learning about his history, where he stayed, where he ate, or even attending performances about what happened along the way.
What took the Emperor 3 months, has today become a route of high historical interest, divided into stages that you can travel in different ways, the most common being hiking, and adapting them to your time.
What is the Charles V Route?
The Route of Charles V is a common project supported and promoted by the Spanish municipalities through which the Emperor and his entourage passed on the way to his retirement. This route recreates the route and events that accompanied the first Spanish monarch of the house of Austria.
The Route has an extension of 457 kilometers and goes from Laredo to the Yuste Monastery. A route from Cantabria to Extremadura, which passes through the Basque Country and Castilla y León. This route is designed to be done on foot, although there are sections that can be very pleasant to explore by bicycle.
The adventure begins in Laredo. From there you can enjoy the representations of the landing and the medieval market that continues to be held during its festivities on the third weekend of September.
From there the road begins to Medina del Pomar, in Burgos, in this stage it passes through Colindres, Cleanas, Ampuero, Rasines, Ramales de la Victoria, Soba, Lanestosa and, finally, Medina. You can do this section of the route on your own or, if you prefer, join a hiking group, since it is one of the routes that the Government of Cantabria has defined in collaboration with the town councils of each of the places it passes through. .
For adventurers who want to do more than just hiking, there is an option: caving that you can do in Rasines, where the Cuevas del Río Silencio are located, with 51 kilometers of galleries. There are also the Covalanas Cave or the Cullalvera Cave in Ramales, which contains prehistoric paintings.
After Burgos, another stage begins through Palencia, this time passing through Torquemada and Dueñas. After passing Palencia, the route enters Valladolid, passing through Cabezón de Pisuerga, Valdestillas and Medina del Campo.
Continuing in Castilla y León, this time in Ávila and Salamanca, the route passes through Horcajo de las Torres, Peñaranda de Bracamonte, Piedrahíta and Barco de Ávila.
Entering Extremadura through Tornavacas, the Route reaches its final section in which it passes through Piornal, Garganta la Olla, Jarandilla de la Vera and, finally, Cuacos de Yuste. This last push of the Route can also be done separately through the Travesía de Carlos V organized by the mountaineering clubs of different towns in La Vera and Jerte, and goes from Tornavacas to Cuacos.
As a culmination of this interesting tour, the Yuste Monastery. Declared National Heritage in 2007. There you can learn more about its history and that of the Palace-House that Emperor Charles V ordered to be built to establish his residence during his last years. There he died in 1558 from malaria.
Each of the sections of the route offers severalvery interesting trails, with which you will have several options in terms of difficulty or in terms of landscape and monumental content.
Proposal for Cultural Itinerary European
A few days ago, the Cooperation Network of Cities and Municipalities of the Carlos V Route began its journey to present this route from Laredo to Cuacos de Yuste as a "European Cultural Itinerary".
This distinction is granted by the Council of Europe to transnational routes (for which the union of institutions from Belgium, Holland and Portugal has been allowed) that were used by ancient civilizations or that are significant for cultural movements or economical. In this way it is intended to disseminate cultural heritage within the European framework.
Astory turned into adventureand an adventure full of history. Choose one of the stages or participate in the complete route as a multi-day route, a good leisure alternative to do adventure sports and acquire culture.
