Vía de la Plata
24.2 km, 113 m up and 100 m down, through 3 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 Riego del Camino. 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.
The camino keeps to the countryside and enters Granja de Moreruela along a back street. Immediately you are presented with the choice between continuing the Vía de la Plata to Astorga or following the Camino Sanabrés to Santiago via Ourense.
The Camino Sanabrés turns left and due west from Granja. It follows farm tracks to reach the Puente Quintos (6.7km) over the Río Esla. Once over the bridge, the river splits into two distinct routes to get to Faramontanos de Tábara. The right route follows the road and is preferred when rains have been heavy. Follow the road to the first paved left turn to descend and rejoin the left route. The left route turns left at the end of the bridge to follow a more scenic trail along the river.
A small village on the banks of the Rio Esla. The camino passes through on its way north. Limited services -- don't count on finding anything open.
A tiny hamlet between Santovenia and Barcial del Barco. No services. The walking through here is flat agricultural land, typical of the Zamora meseta.
Beyond Barcial de Barco a bit of care is needed to keep to the camino. If you have any doubts, speak with the owners of the bar Borox (adjacent to the albergue), they sometimes provide a map of the way.
The confusion has to do with the recent development of a disused railway line into a pedestrian path known as the Via Verde. This is the recommended way as it delivers you directly to the albergue in Benavente (which itself is in a repurposed rail yard building).
After leaving Barcial de Barco the camino returns to the N-630 and crosses it; at this point you can see (ahead and on the left) the elevated Via Verde. The camino will eventually pass beneath it, and it is here that you can take the stairs up to the walkable level. From there it is a simple matter of following it all the way to the railway yard in Benavente.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 375 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 23.4 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.