Vía de la Plata
31.5 km, 146 m up and 170 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 San Marcial. 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.
Located 1km off of the camino, about 4km after leaving Villanueva de Campeán.
The camino through the old town crosses the Plaza Mayor onto Calle de las Costanillas, which it follows downhill to the first roundabout. Cross directly over and keep to this road as it passes through the next large intersection (passing the Iglesia de San Lazaro). Shortly after, the road splits and the camino veers left. The way is well marked with signs on posts. Along this stretch you may see conflicting arrows from the Camino Portugues de la Plata and the Camino de Levante -- follow the Via de la Plata markings north.
There's a separate set of arrows directing the way along the Camino Portugues de la Plata, a route that turns westward into Portugal. At the same time, the Camino de Levante from Valencia enters Zamora from the east. Pay attention to which arrows you're following when leaving the city.
A village in the Tierra del Pan comarca. The municipal albergue is closed. A cafe, a small grocery, and a bakery are along the road. An area de descanso de peregrinos (pilgrim rest area) appears just before the centre of…
The way from Montamarta crosses part of the reservoir, which may be impassable when water levels are high. When that's the case, take the N-630 to cross the water instead.
In 4.5 km the camino crosses over the A-66. It then crosses a few small rivers and returns to cross back over the A-66 once again. From here it follows a straight path directly to Fontanillas de Castro. Along the way, a signed detour leads to the ruins of the Castillo de Castrotorafe, a former stronghold of the Order of Santiago -- worth the side trip if you have the energy.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 105 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 37.6 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.