Torres del Río

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough. Torres del Río is small, and you can see the Santo Sepulcro in half an hour. If you sleep here instead of in Los Arcos or Viana, you get a quiet village on a hill and can look at the church in peace in the evening, once the day pilgrims have gone.

Torres del Río in Ninja numbers

• 141.0 kilometres lie behind you since Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the Camino Francés, 635.1 are still ahead to Santiago.
• 0.8 kilometres separate you from Sansol, the neighbouring village on the other hill.
• 8 sides make up the floor plan of the Santo Sepulcro.
• 4 nails hold Christ on the Romanesque crucifix, the church's only image.
• 172 people live in the village.

Arriving: two villages, one valley

From Los Arcos it is 7.7 kilometres. Shortly before the end you walk through Sansol, then down into the valley and straight back up to Torres. The two villages face each other on two hills. At the top of the village the octagonal church stands among the houses.

In brief: a village of Irache

In 1109 a monastery in Torres was given to the Benedictine monastery of Irache near Estella, and in 1172 Pope Alexander III confirmed this possession. Torres was one of the five villages of Los Arcos and shared their fate: from 1463 to 1753 it belonged to Castile but kept its Navarrese rights. In the Peninsular War men from the village fought the French alongside General Mina's guerrillas.

Under the star: what to see

Everything is a few steps apart on the hill.

• Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro: Romanesque, 12th century, on a slightly irregular octagonal plan, with a semicircular apse and a slender tower opposite, through which you reach the lantern. Inside, a raised dome carries intersecting ribs that form a star and recall domes from Islamic Spain; the names of the apostles are painted on the ribs. The only image is a Romanesque crucifix, Christ with a royal crown and four nails. According to Gronze it is open from 9:00 to 13:00 and 16:30 to 19:00; otherwise call the number on the door. You give €1 towards its upkeep and get the stamp in return.
• Iglesia de San Andrés: The parish church was built in the early 17th century in a Gothic-Renaissance style on top of an older building.
• Houses with coats of arms: Several houses from the 17th and 18th centuries bear family coats of arms.

Honestly

• The church is not open all day. It closes at midday; if you arrive at two, you will have to wait or call.
• There is not much more. Torres is a village with a remarkable church and three places to stay; you will find a cash machine, pharmacy and shops in Viana, 10.4 kilometres on.
• It gets hilly towards Viana. The 10.4 kilometres to Viana go up and down, with 272 metres of ascent.

Where pilgrims sleep

There is no municipal albergue, but there are three private houses right on the way. The Albergue Casa Mariela is open from March to the end of October; pilgrims praise the shared dinner and the host. The Albergue-Hotel La Pata de Oca is open all year and offers dormitory beds and rooms, and there is the Albergue-Hostal San Andrés with dormitory beds from €15 (as of October 2026). There is no donativo albergue.

Ninja tips

• Get to the church before 13:00 or after 16:30. In between it is closed.
• Have €1 ready. It gets you in and gets you the stamp at the Santo Sepulcro.
• Look up. The apostles' names on the dome ribs are easy to miss.

Practical tips for pilgrims

• Bus: Torres is on the Logroño–Pamplona bus line.
• Festivals: Fiestas de la Vera Cruz on the second weekend of September, San Andrés on 30 November.
• Emergency: 112.

Onward: over the hills to Viana

Beyond Torres the way goes up and down, with the highest point of the stage at 578 metres at kilometre 144.5, to Viana, 10.4 kilometres away. From there it is another 9.7 kilometres to Logroño.

What awaits you tomorrow

Viana, the last town in Navarre, with a Gothic church in front of whose portal Cesare Borgia lies buried.

Deep dive: Who built the octagon?

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Torres del Río. About three minutes' reading.

A church without a charter

The Santo Sepulcro of Torres del Río has stood on its hill since the twelfth century, and yet nobody knows for certain who had it built. A Latin inscription only says that someone made it. The octagonal plan recalls the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and that is where the name comes from. For a long time the Templars have been named as its builders. There is no proof of that. Other sources think of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre; there is no proof of that either.

A lantern for the dead

On top of the dome sits a small octagonal lantern, reached through the narrow tower. Perhaps a fire burned there to show pilgrims the way at night. Because the church is built around a centre, some see it as a funerary monument, a chapel for the dead along the road. Both are interpretations, not certainties.

A star of stone

Inside you look up into a dome whose ribs cross to form a star. Vaults like this are known from Islamic Spain, and here they appear in a Christian church on the pilgrim road. The names of the apostles are written on the ribs.

What Torres del Río gives you

In the village they tell of a hungry pilgrim to whom a stranger offered riches in exchange for his soul. The pilgrim refused. The stranger, the devil, took his shadow instead. So he kept his soul and walked on without a shadow. It is a legend. Perhaps it suits a church that keeps its secret and is still open to everyone who passes by.