The Segovian town of Sepúlveda is the gateway to one of the most beautiful and suggestive places in the center of the province: the Hoces del Río Duratón Natural Park.
In the heart of the town, declared a Historic Site, stands the Romanesque church of Santiago, today converted into the Casa del Parque de las Hoces del Río Duratón.
As soon as you enter the reception you have access to all kinds of information, maps and activities that can be carried out in the Park, as well as the management of permits, since there are controlled access areas during the nesting seasons of the many birds that visit it. they inhabit
Immediately, a small photographic exhibition shows the transformation process that the temple underwent to give it this new use and a detailed map acts as an introductory element to contextualize the natural space.
The visit continues along the corridor delimited by explanatory panels of the different areas of the ecosystem, inviting an imaginary walk through the Duratón canyons and their changing postcards depending on the season of the year.
Water is another of the protagonists of the park's biodiversity and a young otter becomes an exceptional guide to narrate the characteristics that make this place such a special place, from the climatic conditions and the animals that inhabit it, to the plants. that cover the floor.
The vertiginous walls of the canyon, some of which reach a hundred meters in height and serve as a home for hundreds of pairs of griffon vultures, are represented by tall panels that explain the slow formation process and its natural causes.
The two iconic monuments of the Hoces del Duratón are also present through a panoramic image of the hermitage of San Frutos, a replica of the Cave of the Seven Altars and a representation of the Visigothic engravings inside.
In the place occupied by the church altar, another of the park's ecosystems is presented. The moor is the land of extreme conditions of winter cold, intense winds and summer heat, becoming a master class to understand the adaptation processes of fauna and flora.
In this old presbytery, homage is also paid to the traditional trades of those who made them a way of life, such as stonemasons, ranchers, farmers and resin makers.
On the way to the last stop of the visit to the Casa del Parque, it is interesting to stop at the underground crypt and contemplate the 10th century anthropomorphic tombs excavated in the rock, before ascending the corridor watched by an eagle owl and ascending to the church choir.
In addition to the magnificent panoramic view of the exhibition center, this space is dedicated to the Illustrious Community and Village of Sepúlveda, its people and its history, the result of which a magnificent cultural legacy has survived to this day.
