Suseia01
Villafranca → Vega de Valcarce
km 0 – 16.5 · 16.5 km
The path follows the river Valcarce on a protected walkway beside the old road, under the motorway viaducts.
Home › Camino Francés › Villafranca del Bierzo – O Cebreiro
Camino Francés · Stage 26 of 33
You follow the narrow valley of the river Valcarce, among chestnut trees and small villages, and in the last 8 km climb hard to O Cebreiro, the gateway to Galicia: stone-and-thatch pallozas, fog and the church of the Eucharistic miracle.
Profile
About 20 km climbing gently up the valley to Las Herrerías, and from there over 600 m of ascent in 8 km, steepest between La Faba and Laguna de Castilla.
Town by town
Every town with services along the way. Out of season some bars and albergues close; the app shows you which ones are open near you as you walk.
Last village with every service
The steep climb begins
Last village in León
Stone marker with the Galician coat of arms
Pallozas and the church of Santa María
The route
The path follows the river Valcarce on a protected walkway beside the old road, under the motorway viaducts.
A quiet stretch among meadows and chestnut trees before the climb.
A climb on a mountain path through chestnuts and oaks, past La Faba and Laguna de Castilla. You enter Galicia and reach O Cebreiro along the ridge.
Tips
Vega de Valcarce, Las Herrerías and La Faba have albergues. Climbing to O Cebreiro on fresh legs is a different story.
In Las Herrerías you can hire horses to ride up to O Cebreiro. It is an old Camino tradition.
O Cebreiro is at about 1,300 m. Even in summer, bring something warm for the evening.
Choose how many kilometres you want to walk each day and Suseia splits the route from Villafranca del Bierzo to Santiago into stages based on the albergues in each town. Free and without signing up.
Common questions
About 28.4 km. It takes 7 to 8 hours.
Yes: over 600 m of ascent in about 8 km from Las Herrerías, on a mountain path.
Pre-Roman round houses with stone walls and rye-thatch roofs. One of them is a small ethnographic museum.