Soria is one of Spain’s best-kept secrets — a high plateau in north-central Castilla y León where medieval castles, Romanesque churches, and timeless villages sit scattered across more than 10,000 square kilometres of forests, nature parks, and open grazing land. The province averages about 1,000 metres above sea level, and the air is noticeably clean and sharp.
With barely nine people per square kilometre — one of the lowest population densities in all of Europe — Soria feels genuinely empty. The rural exodus of the 1960s hollowed out many villages, but what remains is unhurried, authentic, and remarkably well-preserved. About 40% of the province’s 93,000 inhabitants live in the capital city, also called Soria, leaving the countryside to hikers, cyclists, and the occasional pilgrim.
The walking is excellent, the Romanesque architecture is among the finest in Spain, and the local gastronomy — roast lamb, wild mushrooms, butter beans — rewards every meal. If you want a corner of Spain that feels undiscovered, this is it.