Ponferrada walks

Stage 68 of the Camino de Santiago. Today’s stage crosses the entire Bierzo region, a large basin surrounded by mountains and blessed with a milder microclimate. You’ll find yourself back in the countryside and among the vineyards that produce the famous wines of Bierzo. After passing through a few small villages that stretch along the route and crossing the River Cua, you’ll arrive in Villafranca del Bierzo, a Frankish town born of the pilgrimage route and rich in beautiful heritage.

The 67th stage of the Camino de Santiago. On this stage, the climb up to Alto de Cerezales offers a magnificent panoramic view of the surrounding area. Then begins a long descent along stony paths and through magnificent chestnut groves towards Ponferrada. This ancient town, built at the confluence of the River Boeza, boasts numerous religious buildings and an imposing fortified castle built by the Knights Templar in the 13th century.

The sixty-ninth stage of the Camino de Santiago. This stage is nothing like the one before it – far from it! It is a stage that will leave an indelible memory, thanks to the beautiful, exhilarating and daunting climb to O Cebreiro, the highest ascent on the French Way within Spanish territory. In the village of O Cebreiro, you are in Galicia; this village is a little gem, thanks to its location, its views, its church, its pallozas and its legends.

Sixty-sixth stage of the Camino de Santiago. On this stage, you climb gently up the eastern slope of the León mountains through magnificent scenery. The route passes through picturesque little villages saved from abandonment. After passing through Rabanal del Camino on a path through oak forests, you begin the ascent to the Cruz de Ferro (the Iron Cross), through a landscape of almost deserted moorland, before descending to the hamlet of Manjarin to spend the night in, or next to, a quaint refuge.