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Stage 26 · Camino Francés
Villafranca del Bierzo → O Cebreiro
Up the Valcarce to O Cebreiro
The most famous mountain stage of the Camino: 28.4 kilometres with 1,000 metres of ascent, nearly all of it packed into the last eight, and high difficulty. You leave Villafranca across the Burbia and must choose at once: the historic route runs along the floor of the Valcarce valley, hugging the main road, with a concrete parapet separating you from the traffic; the Pradela variant climbs steeply to the left, follows the high ground among chestnut trees with fine views, and drops to Trabadelo. It is harder and more beautiful.
From Trabadelo the valley is narrow and green, and villages come every few kilometres: La Portela, Ambasmestas, Vega de Valcarce, Ruitelán, Las Herrerías. Almost all have a bar, and Vega de Valcarce, past the halfway point, is where to eat and stock up.
At Las Herrerías the easy walking ends. The path rears up through chestnut and oak woods to La Faba, continues through Laguna de Castilla and passes the stone marker for the border with Galicia, by now in open pasture. O Cebreiro is a stone hamlet at 1,300 metres, with thatched pallozas, the pre-Romanesque church of Santa María and the tomb of Elías Valiña, the priest who painted the first yellow arrows. There is somewhere to sleep and eat, and more days of fog than sun.
Tips
Leave at dawn: the final climb from Las Herrerías to O Cebreiro is better done in the cool, and the stage is long.
Eat and fill your bottle in Vega de Valcarce or Las Herrerías; from there to the top there are only village bars with uncertain hours.
If you take the Pradela variant, expect a serious climb right from the start and a couple of extra kilometres.
Warm clothing and a raincoat in the pack even if you set off in sunshine: the weather up there changes in minutes.
Book ahead in O Cebreiro in season; it is small and much in demand.
In the valley the route follows the verge of the main road: always walk inside the parapet and take care at junctions.
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The elevation for this stage has not been loaded yet.
The weather
14°C
Cloudy
- Feels like
- 14 °C
- Wind
- 4 km/h
- Daylight
- 08:37 – 19:48
- Today 🌫️ 27° 13°
- Wed 🌫️ 29° 12°
- Thu 🌫️ 30° 13° 5 %
- Fri 🌫️ 26° 11°
- Sat ⛅ 22° 12° 5 %
- Sun ⛅ 18° 1° 11 %
- Mon 🌧️ 21° 11° 22 %
Data from Open-Meteo, refreshed every half hour.
What's there today
Nobody has reported anything on this stage.
Tips from people who walked it
The things that do not expire: where the fountain actually is, which bar opens at six, where not to go in the rain.
None here yet. If you have just walked this stage, you know something tomorrow’s pilgrim does not.
Emergencies
Call 112112 is the same number in Spain, in Portugal and across the European Union. It works with no credit, with no SIM, and over any operator's network, not just yours.
Say where you are I am walking the Camino Francés, on the stage from Villafranca del Bierzo to O Cebreiro.
- Farmacia Pérez Enríquez Pharmacy km 0,1
- Farmacia María Carmen Prieto Guibelalde Pharmacy km 0,2
- Arsenio Alvarez Alvarez Pharmacy km 9,6
- Farmacia Vega de Valcarce Pharmacy km 16,5
The map
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What to see on this stage 13
- Iglesia de San Francisco Church km 0,0
- Capilla de la Omaña Church km 0,2
- Colegiata de Santa María Church km 0,3
- Iglesia de Santa María Magdalena de Pereje Church km 5,1
- Igrexa de San Nicolás de Trabadelo Church km 9,6
- Iglesia de San Juan Bautista Church km 13,8
- Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol de Ambasmestas Church km 14,9
- Iglesia de Santa María Magdalena Church km 16,6
- Igrexa de San Xoán de Ruitelán Church km 18,7
- Capela de San Froilán Church km 19,0
- Iglesia de San Julián Church km 20,1
- Iglesia de San Andrés Church km 23,2
- Santuario de Santa María a Real do Cebreiro Church km 28,0