The Vía de la Plata

From the truck-stop, the camino navigates around a pair of heavily trafficked roundabouts to pass beneath the A-66. From there if follows adjacent to the N-630 all the way into Monesterio.

The camino through Monesterio keeps along the N-630 but there are a few arrows which direct you left and into the town and the municipal albergue. At the far end of town, the camino leaves the N-630 by turning left just after the football field.

This stretch of the camino is poorly waymarked and at times there are conflicting signs; follow the yellow arrows when they are. The camino passes the Arroyo del Bodión (13.2km). Entering Fuente de Cantos there are far too many arrows, which isn’t particularly helpful given that the town is a knot of narrow streets. If you are trying to get to the albergue, follow the arrows to the left when you get to the edge of town. The albergue is located in the south-west corner and from there another set of arrows will deliver you to the correct exit point for the city.

There are as many marked routes through town as there are pilgrims to follow them, it is a bit of a mess. Follow whichever set you can find carefully and they will eventually exit the north side of town (NOT along the N-630) onto another farm track. It is level walking all the way to Calzadilla de los Barros.

Pass straight through Calzadilla and pick up the farm track once again. It returns to the road but only for 500m before it turns left sharply away from the road to return to farm tracks all the way to Puebla de Sancho Pérez, passing the Arroyo Atarja (4.7km).

After passing the Plaza España and Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) the camino passes to the right of the Iglesia de Santa Lucía and heads straight to join the BA-160 out of town. It bears left after passing a gas station to follow a smaller paved road into Zafra.

The camino through Zafra crosses most of the important landmarks. It enters town near the train station (if you arrived by train, leave the station and turn right) and follows the boulevard straight towards the Plaza España and the large Parque de la Paz. It turns left at the Plaza (before the Parador/Castle) and crosses it diagonally, and on the far end it turns right onto Calle Sevilla (a pedestrian road). From here it passes through the Plaza Grande and makes a right hand turn onto Calle del Conde de la Corte. It will pass through one small triangularly shaped plaza and then exit the old part of town onto the Calle López Asme. From here turn left (the Convento Albergue is ahead on your right) and then right at the Convento Albergue. From here it is straight to and across a roundabout on the N-432. After passing to the left of a housing development the camino returns to the countryside.

The arrows bring you through Los Santos, but near the albergue they are not too clear. In fact, they pass behind the albergue which sits like a walled island between two small roads. It returns to the countryside for a long (15km+) road to Villafranca.

The stretch of the camino between Villafranca and Torremejía includes a long straight gravel section which is an original Roman road. It makes a few minor twists and turns but eventually heads directly into, through, and out of Torremejía.

If you made your way to the N-630 while in Torremejía there is no need to retrace your steps. Follow it out of town and you will rejoin the camino which emerges from your right. If follows adjacent to the road before arrows and a bollard direct you towards a path on your right. It passes the Ence Mérida factory and heads straight to the outskirts of Mérida where the arrows are a bit unclear. When you emerge onto the road you will see ahead of you a bridge over the river; you need to follow the trail (not the road) which passes underneath that bridge. It leads directly to a small riverside park and at the end of the park is the pedestrian bridge over the río into Mérida.

Once over the bridge the camino immediately turns left to follow a path along the river, avoiding altogether any meaningful entrance into the city of Mérida.

The camino does not make any real entrance into the oldest parts of Mérida and with the exception of the Alcazaba (the castle at the end of the bridge) and the Acueducto de Los Milagros it avoids passing any of the most significant buildings in the city.

From the shadow of the aqueduct, the camino proceeds northward to a set of roundabouts. At the first roundabout it bears left, and at the second roundabout, it does the same to follow along with the Avenida del Lago to Proserpina.

From the shadow of the aqueduct, the camino proceeds northward to a set of roundabouts. At the first roundabout it bears left, and at the second roundabout, it does the same to follow along with the Avenida del Lago to Proserpina.

The camino follows a paved road away from the embalse for 4km before turning sharply left to leave it (just before a bridge turns right). From here it follows a path for another 3.5km into El Carrascalejo.

The camino climbs gently up to the village, passes counterclockwise around the church, and down the hill to the left and past the albergue. It passes beneath the A-66 before arriving at Aljucén.

The camino follows a paved road out of town and joins the N-630 before crossing the Río Aljucén. Once over the river, it leaves the road (before the gas station) to follow a long path through the countryside.

Along the way to Alcuéscar, there are two detours. The first is to the Basílica de Santa Lucía del Trampal but it is not well signposted. From the Basilica you can simply follow the road 3km to Alcuéscar. Of course, if you are not comfortable with the trails and signage you can always walk that same road from Alcuéscar to visit the 8th-century temple. Admission is free (but closed on Mondays) and there is a small exhibition explaining the archeological findings. 

The second detour is mentioned below.

If you made this detour, follow the main road (the EX-382) in the direction of Alcuéscar.

The camino leaves town at a left turn just after the albergue. It is a paved road which gives way to a dirt road to follow through the countryside to Casas de Don Antonio.

Beyond Casas de Don Antonio the camino returns to the N-630 but follows a path adjacent to it. It crosses the N road and begins to veer away from Aldea del Cano.

If you stayed in Aldea del Cano, take the road adjacent to the albergue to return to the camino. It follows country roads again, passes under the motorway, and over the Aeródromo de la Cervera. When it gets to the Río Salor take the left-most bridge straight to Valdesalor.

The camino leaves town along the N-630 for a short distance. At the Repsol gas station, it turns towards the right to cross over the motorway. It climbs gently to the Puerto de las Camellas (4.9km). The path is soft until the suburbs of Cáceres begin.

The camino enters the old town of Cacéres from the east.

The best landmark for exiting Cáceres is the bull ring, where the arrow visibility increases. Cross the main road at the bull ring and follow the signs to Casar de Cáceres, you will quickly find yourself leaving town along a divided collonade with trees for shade. The pedestrian walk ends and the camino follows along the road to a large roundabout. Cross to the left and follow the roundabout clockwise. Be sure NOT to follow the N-521. You are looking for the smaller CC-38. Along the way keep an eye out for arrows which take you away from this busy road to enter Casar de Cáceres along a much quieter path.

The camino leaves Casar de Cáceres along the road to the north. It almost immediately turns to dirt and continues through the countryside. Along the way, you will pass beside and through walled pastures. It is a quiet stretch of road which, when dry, is rather enjoyable. It is remote, and the only signs of civilization along the way are a few farms and the ongoing construction of the AVE rail line. 

You are approaching a large embalse (reservoir) and there are two large bridges which take you over two of the rivers that feed into it. The first is the Río Almonte (17.8km) and the second is the Río Tajo (3.5km). After this second crossing, the camino turns sharply uphill and to the right to leave the road. Opposite the road from this turn is the detour described below.

Rejoin the camino at the road, making sure to follow the trail upwards and not the road downwards. 

Beyond Cañaveral the camino offers several options, though they are not presented anywhere and you are most likely to just follow the arrows as you find them and that is OK. This first arrow is just a few hundred meters out of town and takes you to the left and uphill; they look mighty official but locals explain that they were painted by a German cyclist. To get to the second set of arrows just keep on the road to the first roundabout (quite possibly the only roundabout in the world with a chimney) and take it to the left following the N-630. The second set of arrows will take you off the road to your left and past the Ermita de San Cristóbal.

One more word of caution is in order. Be sure to follow the camino markers here and not any of the other popular hiking trails. You will cross a few major roads near a junction with a large CLUB.

8km from Cañaveral the camino is signposted with an optional detour to the small town of Grimaldo.

9km from Grimaldo, at a place called Cuatro Términos, the camino is signposted with a second option to Riolobos. Note that Riolobos is no longer on the camino and is a rather large detour. Continue straight instead.

From the albergue return to the main road and exit town by walking uphill past the walled part of town, keeping it to your right. Arrows bring you to the Río Jerte (1.7km) and the Puente Romano which crosses it.

From the river, the camino climbs to a pair of roundabouts which straddle the motorway. It is paved walking to Aldeahuela del Jerte.

Straight through town and out again along the same road all the way to Carcaboso.

The way from Carcaboso to Ventaquemada is a return to nature with a few options along the way. The first turn to pay attention to is less than a kilometer out of town where your natural tendency is to always keep on a straight path; the camino turns right at a sign for Finca Bombay (an adventure sports company, in case you are inclined to rent an ebike). Not far beyond that turn is a split, and here both options are perfectly viable. To the left is somewhat shorter, and to the right is a trail marked H1 along the more historic path.

The two options rejoin and continue through the countryside to Ventaquemada.

8.4km from Cáparra you will find markings indicating a detour to your right. They point the way to Jarilla (2km) where there is accommodation.

From Jarilla you do not need to retrace your steps. Follow the N-630 and you will rejoin the camino.

The camino follows the road out of town to a roundabout, where you turn right to cross over the motorway. At the roundabout on the opposite side turn left to resume walking along the road all the way to Baños; 

From Baños the camino begins its climb to the Alto de Béjar. It begins along the old Roman road on the east side of town, avoid the temptation/mistake of following the N-630 (though that will get you to both the alto and the Albergue El Solitario). The climb to the alto is fairly steep, but less than 3km.