Camino Francés

León to Oncina de la Valdoncina

10.9 km, 106 m up and 86 m down, through 3 places, 2 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.

10.9km
Distance
106m
Climbing
86m
Descent
3
Places you pass
3
With a bar or cafe

The ground between

León · 844 mOncina de la Valdoncina · 867 m
Climbing 127 mDescent 104 mHighest 909 m · La Virgen del CaminoLowest 829 m · Trobajo del Camino

What you pass through

Every place on the path in order, with the distance from León. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.

  1. start
    León842 m21 to stayBar · food

    The camino exits past the cathedral, passing the Iglesia de San Isidoro and then the Parador (the former Hostal de San Marcos) on the river. From there it crosses the Río Bernesga and heads through the western suburbs. The route is well-marked but the urban exit can feel long. The Virgen del Camino, a major pilgrimage site, is about 5 km from the center.

  2. 3.7 km
    Trobajo del Camino840 m2 to stayBar · food

    Trobajo del Camino is a suburb of León that you'll pass through without realizing you've left the city. A few bars and shops line the road. The walking is urban and unremarkable — press on toward La Virgen del Camino.

  3. 7.0 km
    La Virgen del Camino910 m6 to stayBar · food

    La Virgen del Camino is one of the most important Marian pilgrimage sites in the province of León. The modern Santuario, designed by the Dominican architect Francisco Coello de Portugal and completed in 1961, is a stark …

  4. 8.9 km
    Fresno del Camino880 mBar · food

    A quiet village on the scenic route variant. No reliable services. The walking is on farm tracks through open country — a welcome change from the N-120.

  5. 10.5 km
    Oncina de la Valdoncina871 m2 to stayBar · food

    A small hamlet on the scenic route. No services. The terrain is flat farmland with the occasional cluster of trees.

Villadangos or Villar de Mazarife?

The path splits here and rejoins before Oncina de la Valdoncina. Both ways are below, because the question is which to take, and that is not a question two separate pages can answer.

Via Villadangos

Adds
17.2 km
Climb
13 m
Places
4
Beds
10
  1. Valverde de la Virgen887 m1 to stay

Via Villar de Mazarife

Adds
22.8 km
Climb
11 m
Places
5
Beds
7
  1. Villar de Mazarife869 m3 to stay
  2. Villavante837 m2 to stay

    From here it's a short walk to Puente de Órbigo and the famous bridge at Hospital de Órbigo.

Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 188 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 10.5 km.

Programa MOVES IIIMinisterio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico — IDAEXunta de GaliciaInstituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA)Financiado por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEUPlan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia

Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.

Más información sobre la financiación recibida →