Atapuerca does not look like much from the road: low, scrubby hills, a railway cutting, oaks and gorse. But the limestone caves here have yielded some of the most important remains in the history of humanity. In the Gran Dolina, archaeologists found bones of Homo antecessor, around 850,000 years old, among the oldest human fossils in Western Europe, and in the Sima de los Huesos, a deep pit, they found the remains of at least twenty-eight individuals about 430,000 years old. UNESCO listed the site in 2000.
It is all deeply odd to stand over. The railway, built in the nineteenth century through a ridge, cut the caves open and led to the first finds, and since the 1970s teams have dug each summer, still finding new bones and tools. Visits to the excavation sites are by guided tour, booked through the foundation that runs them, so reserve ahead. The Museum of Human Evolution in Burgos, a short drive away, is excellent and puts the finds in context.
Ibeas de Juarros, the nearest village, has just a few hundred people, so for fuel, a decent lunch and supplies head into Burgos, about thirteen kilometres west, a city of nearly two hundred thousand with a magnificent Gothic cathedral, also a World Heritage Site. Local food is hearty: morcilla, the rice-filled blood sausage, roast lamb and wheaty bread. The Camino de Santiago passes through Atapuerca village, so you will meet pilgrims on foot in the lanes.
The countryside is high plateau, around a thousand metres, with wide horizons and strong wind, and the roads are straight, empty and smooth. Corners are few, but the long views are striking, with wheat fields turning from green to gold. Winters are very cold, with frost, fog and occasional snow, and summers are hot and dry. Spring and early autumn are comfortable. Take a jacket even in sunshine, because the air at this height cools fast once the sun drops.