The Forgotten Way to Santiago will hold its annual Congress for the first time in Cantabria. On October 16 and 17, Valdeolea will host the fifth edition of a meeting that will bring together representatives of the territories linked to this historic pilgrimage route to talk about heritage, cooperation, tourism and the future.
This month Cantabria will be one of the great meeting points of the Forgotten Way to Santiago.
The days October 16 and 17, Valdeolea will host the V Congress of the Forgotten Path, an event that comes to the community for the first time thanks to the Camino Lebaniego Foundation and with the collaboration of the municipalities of Las Rozas de Valdearroyo, Valdeprado del Río, Campoo de Enmedio and Valdeolea.
After four editions held at other points on the itinerary, the last of them in Zalla in 2025, the Congress now moves to Cantabria with the intention of analyzing the present of this route and, above all, thinking about its future.
A historical route that wants to gain prominence
The Forgotten Way crosses the Basque Country, Burgos, Cantabria, Palencia and León before linking with the French Way in Villafranca del Bierzo.
It is a route of strong historical, cultural and landscape character that for years remained outside the great spotlights of the Jacobean world, but that little by little has been regaining visibility.
In Cantabria, its route crosses the municipalities of Las Rozas de Valdearroyo, Valdeprado del Río, Campoo de Enmedio and Valdeolea, before continuing towards the Palentina Mountain.
Its passage through the south of the region also allows it to connect the Camino de Santiago with a territory of enormous heritage and natural value, but still little known by many pilgrims.
“COaS for Cantabria, present and shared future”
The main day on Friday the 16th will take place under the title “COaS for Cantabria, present and shared future”.
The program will address issues related to cooperation between territories, the management of pilgrimage routes and the capacity of these routes to also become tools for cultural and tourism development.
One of the objectives will be to share experiences between administrations, associations and local entities that work directly on the territory.
Because a historical route is not maintained solely by marking kilometers. It needs coordination, heritage conservation, services for pilgrims and a common strategy that allows it to grow without losing its identity.
Cantabria is also a land of pilgrimage
The inaugural conference will be dedicated precisely to that historical context.
Under the title “Cantabria Peregrina, the historical roots of the pilgrimage routes in the region”, the role that these routes have played for centuries as means of communication, cultural exchange and transmission of heritage will be analyzed.
Cantabria has a very deep relationship with pilgrimages.
The Camino del Norte, the Camino Lebaniego and the Camino Olvidado itself are part of a network of itineraries that demonstrates that this community has not simply been a territory crossed by pilgrims, but a historical space of welcome and connection between different routes.
Associations will also have a voice
The program will have the participation of the Association of Pilgrims of the Northern Paths in Cantabria, along with representatives of institutions and territories linked to the Forgotten Path.
The presence of associations is especially important.
They are often the ones who know first-hand the problems of the route, the needs of pilgrims and the heritage that needs attention.
They are also the ones who keep the memory of these routes alive when they do not yet have large numbers of walkers.
The Congress therefore aims to combine the institutional vision with the experience of those who work directly on the Camino.
Not everything will be talking in a room
One of the most interesting features of the program is that the meeting will not be limited to presentations and work tables.
After the sessions, participants will visit different heritage milestones linked to the Forgotten Path.
Friday's day will also end with a concert at the Collegiate Church of San Pedro de Cervatos, one of the great references of the Romanesque heritage of Cantabria.
In this way, the Congress will allow us to know on the ground what will be talked about during the sessions.
On Saturday it will be time to walk
On Saturday the 17th, one of the most unusual parts of the meeting will arrive.
Participants will have the opportunity to walk a section of the Forgotten Path.
A simple, but very important, way to remember that behind any tourist, cultural or institutional strategy there is always a basic reality: a path and a person walking on it.
Knowing a route from an office will never be the same as traveling it.
That is why combining reflection and the Camino can also help detect needs, discover opportunities and better understand the pilgrim's real experience.
The role of the Camino Lebaniego Foundation
The Camino Lebaniego Foundation is promoting this meeting within a broader strategy to promote and energize the pilgrimage routes that cross Cantabria.
Holding the Congress in the south of the region also allows us to broaden our vision beyond the best-known itineraries.
The Forgotten Path can become an opportunity for rural territories that preserve heritage, landscape and small towns capable of offering a very different experience from the most traveled routes.
That growth, however, will have to be done with balance.
Promoting a little-known route does not automatically mean turning it into a new crowded route. It means creating the necessary conditions so that it can receive pilgrims without losing what precisely makes it special.
An opportunity to recover a Camino
The name itself, Camino Olvidado, summarizes much of its recent history.
For a long time it remained in the background compared to other major itineraries.
Now different associations, administrations and territories are working to recover its memory, improve signage and give it a new life.
The Congress of Cantabria can serve precisely to advance in that direction.
Not only to talk about how many pilgrims can arrive in the future, but to decide what type of route they want to build.
A route with careful heritage, involved towns, hospitality and a balanced relationship between tourism and pilgrimage.
Two days to think about the future
The V Congress of the Forgotten Path will, therefore, be much more than a technical meeting.
It will be an opportunity to bring together people from different territories who share the same route and similar problems.
It will also allow Cantabria to be placed within a Camino that connects several territories in northern Spain before meeting the French Camino.
And, above all, it will serve to remember that there are still Paths that have much to discover.
He October 16 and 17For two days, Valdeolea will be one of those places where the Camino is not only traveled.
It is also thought.
Practical information
The Congress will be held on the days October 16 and 17, 2026.
The activities are free, although places are limited and prior registration is required.
The program will combine presentations, meetings between representatives of the territories, heritage visits, music and a day on foot along a section of the Forgotten Way.
