Camino Francés
34.6 km, 334 m up and 157 m down, through 10 places, 8 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Villavante. 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.
From here it's a short walk to Puente de Órbigo and the famous bridge at Hospital de Órbigo.
Puente de Órbigo sits on the east bank of the Río Órbigo, directly across the famous bridge from Hospital de Órbigo. The two towns function as one settlement split by the river. A couple of bars and services are availabl…
From Hospital de Órbigo, the camino heads south through flat farmland toward Astorga, about 17 km ahead. The terrain is open and exposed.
Villares de Órbigo is a small village on the road between Hospital de Órbigo and Astorga. A bar serves pilgrims. The Iglesia de Santiago has a modest Santiago Peregrino statue. The terrain is still flat páramo.
The approach to Astorga becomes more interesting as the terrain begins to rise gently and the walls of the city come into view.
San Justo de la Vega sits just across the Río Tuerto from Astorga. The town has bars, restaurants, and a supermarket — useful for stocking up before or after Astorga, where services are more spread out. The Iglesia de Sa…
The camino exits Astorga through the western gate and enters the Maragatería — the hilly, depopulated country that was the Maragato homeland. The terrain changes immediately: the flat meseta is behind you, and the road ahead climbs gradually through stone villages toward the mountains.
Valdeviejas is a small village immediately outside Astorga's western gate. A bar and a small shop serve as a last stop before the quieter villages ahead. The Maragato architecture — stone houses with wide doorways built …
Murias de Rechivaldo is the first proper Maragato village on the route, with the characteristic stone houses and wide entrance gates that allowed mule trains to pass through. A couple of albergues and a bar provide servi…
Castrillo de los Polvazares is a perfectly preserved Maragato village — cobblestone streets, stone houses with massive wooden doors, and an atmosphere that feels like stepping into another century. It has been designated…
Santa Catalina de Somoza continues the Maragato pattern: stone houses, wide doors, and a village designed around mule transport. The difference is that Santa Catalina is less restored and more lived-in — which gives it a…
El Ganso ('The Goose') is a village in various states of ruin and restoration. Some houses have been beautifully rehabilitated; others are crumbling. The Cowboy Bar — decorated in an incongruous Wild West theme — has bec…
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 443 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 30.6 km.
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.