along the camino: cordillera cantábrica

looking back towards Foncebadón, an abandoned village in the Cordillera Cantábrica that's often eerily obscured by mist

From Astorga to Triacastela you'll haul yourself over a couple of misty mountain passes, walking through the land of the Maragatos, Spain's ancient muleteers, and passing into Galicia.

Sandwiched these passes is the fertile El Bierzo valley, home to delicious wine, a Templar castle at Ponferrada, and the best and strangest albergue of the camino at Villafranca del Bierzo.

---- For a complete description of the Valle del Silencio alternative route, see our Valle del Silencio page ----