Vía de la Plata
27.8 km, 288 m up and 270 m down, through 6 places, 1 of which has somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Asturianos. 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.
When the camino leaves Asturianos it picks up the N-525 but leaves it soon after to follow a paved road that turns to the right. DO NOT miss this turn, or the one just after which removes you from the road entirely. It's a country path all the way to Palacios de Sanabria.
Between Palacios de Sanabria and Puebla de Sanabria the camino follows country paths and once again crosses the motorway and the AVE line. Along the way, it passes through the hamlets of Remesal (2.4 km), Otero de Sanabria (2.8 km), and Triufe (2.5 km).
After Triufe it turns south again to cross the motorway and join the N-525. Follow the road to the first roundabout and turn left, descending gently into Puebla de Sanabria.
In Puebla, the albergue and some services are on the east side of the river.
A small hamlet between Palacios and Puebla. No significant services.
Another small hamlet on the approach to Puebla. No services, but the walking through here is pleasant as the valley narrows toward the mountains.
The last hamlet before Puebla de Sanabria. No services. From here the camino drops down toward the N-525 and the descent into Puebla.
If you stay at any of the accommodation options on the south side of town, retrace your steps to get back to the camino -- it would be easy to confuse the southern road with the northern one.
The camino follows the road north out of town but soon picks up a trail before you reach the N-525. The walk is scenic, and muddy after rain. On several occasions it joins the N-525 but never for very long, so keep an eye open for the exit points. It reaches Terroso (9.7 km) and then makes a large loop to the north before descending into Requejo de Sanabria.
Stock up on supplies here. The mountain crossing ahead has limited services, and you won't find a town this well-equipped again until La Gudina in Galicia.
A small hamlet 9.7 km from Puebla. No significant services, but the views from this elevated position are increasingly dramatic as the mountains close in.
It is uphill from here to the Portela de la Canda. From Requejo the camino follows a narrow country road adjacent to the river. A new river route now offers an alternative to the N-525 -- check locally for current waymarks.
At the entrance to Padornelo you can either turn left to walk through the lower part of town or you can keep on the road (the camino returns to it).
The camino has been rerouted in several places between here and Lubian due to AVE construction. The construction is now largely complete, and a new river route has been established between Requejo and Padornelo. Check locally for the latest waymarks, as the situation has been evolving.
The original AVE detours that forced pilgrims onto the busy N-525 should no longer be necessary, but keep an eye out for any remaining construction activity.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 199 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 27 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.