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Wise Pilgrim APPThe pass marks the border between Extremadura and Castilla y Leon — and the landscape changes accordingly. An albergue and a Cepsa gas station with a small shop provide basic services. From here the camino begins its descent toward La Calzada de Bejar, crossing the Puente de la Malena after 4 km.
The Puerto de Bejar has been a strategic passage since pre-Roman times. Augustus's engineers formalized the route in the 1st century BC, and the milestones that survive here date from subsequent improvements under Trajan and Hadrian. The pass marks a geographic and cultural boundary -- the transition from Extremadura's dehesa landscape to the open meseta of Castilla y Leon. This is where the Via de la Plata begins to feel different.
The camino turns left and away from the road at the entrance to Penacaballera -- if you got distracted and ended up at a roundabout you went too far. From the alto the camino begins its winding descent to La Calzada de Bejar, crossing along the way the Puente de la Malena (4 km).
