The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, also known as the Silver Route, was a Spanish 2,560-kilometre-long road between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, that was used from 1598 to 1882.

El Camino Real (The Royal Road) was a network of colonial-era roads established primarily to connect Spanish missions, presidios (forts), and provincial capitals throughout the Spanish Empire in North America. Its purpose was to facilitate communication, trade, and the movement of troops to defend Spanish territorial claims against French and British incursions. The most famous branch, El Camino Real de los Tejas, served as the primary overland route for the Spanish colonization of what is now Texas and Louisiana, linking Mexico City to Los Adaes. It was also intended to support the religious conversion of Indigenous populations by providing a supply line for the missions. Over time, it evolved into a cultural and economic artery that allowed for the exchange of livestock, traditions, and news between the heart of Mexico and the remote northern frontier, effectively serving as the "main street" of the Spanish colonial world for over 150 years.