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How many pueblos were located on El Camino Real?

El Camino Real (Spanish; literally The Royal Road, often translated as The King's Highway) is a 600-mile (965-kilometer) commemorative route connecting the 21 Spanish missions in California (formerly the region Alta California in the Spanish Empire), along with a number of sub-missions, four presidios, and three ...



Along the historic El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (The Royal Inland Road), there were approximately 20 to 21 distinct Pueblo communities in the northern province of Nuevo México (modern-day New Mexico). These ancestral and contemporary Pueblo sites were critical nodes along the 1,600-mile trade route that stretched from Mexico City to Ohkay Owingeh. Major pueblos directly on or very near the trail included Isleta, Santo Domingo (Kewa), San Felipe, Sandia, and San Juan (Ohkay Owingeh). The Spanish utilized these existing indigenous settlements as points of "reducción" (concentration), trade hubs, and sources of labor and supplies. Today, many of these pueblos remain vibrant, sovereign nations along the Rio Grande valley. The trail is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a National Historic Trail, commemorating the complex 300-year history of interaction between Spanish colonists and the Pueblo peoples. While the total number of "sites" on the trail exceeds 60, the core group of living Pueblos that provided the cultural and logistical anchor for the northern end of the route remains around 20.

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Historically, a Camino Real (Royal Road) is defined as a road that connects Spanish capital and Spanish capital, a distinction not shared with ordinary Spanish villages or Indian pueblos. For a short period of time, the trail connected Mexico City to San Juan Pueblo (1598-1600) and San Gabriel (1600-1609).

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For Spanish settlers, El Camino Real was the bridge to preserving cultural and religious traditions, communicating with loved ones and maintaining a European cultural identity.

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OETTING: The first highway mission bells were installed in 1906. They were roadside markers placed every mile or so to help travelers find their way between California's coastal towns. By the mid-1950s, the highway bells were drumming up car tourism, leading road trippers between the missions.

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Their history goes back to 1906, when Forbes designed the first of the El Camino Real Bells.

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It may be comforting for you to know that the locals have been supporting pilgrims on the Camino for 1,000 years. As I learned during my journey, they are very happy and proud to welcome walkers and keep them safe along the way. And there is another important fact to know: crimes along the Camino are extremely rare.

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El Camino Real -- originally part of 101 -- runs the length of the Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose. Its very name implies a regal history. Translated from the Spanish, it means The King's Highway.

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Some of the California State designated El Camino Real consists of highways or other restricted-access roads, and cannot be walked. The California Mission Walkers have established a route consisting of a network of trails and roads that follow closely along the original historic Camino.

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The scallop shell is a symbol of the Camino de Santiago as pilgrims used to bring it back from their pilgrimage as a souvenir or proof that they had completed it.

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When translated from Spanish, 'El Camino' means 'the way'. However, the phrase also lends itself to a vintage Chevrolet make.

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