Soto de San Esteban is a riverside town located on the left bank of the Duero, just 8 km from San Esteban de Gormaz, the municipality of Soria to which it belongs.

Its strategic location next to the Duero river has given Soto de San Esteban a fundamental role in our history. Proof of this is that, according to the Poem of Mio Cid, the daughters of the Cid Campeador were sheltered in the so-called Tower of Doña Urraca, in the soteño spot of Valdejunquera, after being outraged in the Robledal de Corpes (Castillejo de Robledo).

In the centre of the village we find the Church of San Andrés with a large bell tower. On the outskirts, in the middle of a natural setting, stands the hermitage of the Virgen de los Rubiales, which is in transition from Romanesque to Gothic and has a simple layout, with a semicircular arched doorway and a belfry with a small roof. There is also a forge that has recently been restored, but there used to be an inn and a mill.

On the outskirts of Soto de San Esteban is its district of traditional underground cellars ( 72 in total), which house dozens of metres of underground galleries where wine from the area’s riverside vineyards was made.

On the Camino de las Tapias there are still remains of the ancient tradition in the village whereby each couple who married would make a piece of stone wall with their own hands.

The nature that inhabits this riverside village gives a varied sample of its attractiveness. As well as being part of the cycling stage of the Camino del Cid, Soto de San Esteban boasts:

• La Presa, an area that simulates a fine sandy beach on the banks of the Duero river in Soto.
• El Barruelo, a spring that rises naturally from the top of the nearby mountains.
• The Cueva de la Horca, which according to legend in the times of the Reconquest was used to go through a tunnel to the river Duero in search of water.
• The streams “Cubo Seco” and “Peñameril”, which together form the stream “Madre” which flows into the Duero.

Soto de San Esteban celebrates its fiestas in honour of the Virgen de los Rubiales on the first weekend in September.

Locals of Soto de San Esteban: Soteños.