We depart León following the Camino, which goes next to the roadway and has no great difficulties. Many guidebooks mark this stage’s end at San Martín del Camino, but we’ll continue to Hospital de Órbigo, where we’ll spend the night. (In case you decide to finish your stage earlier, we’ll provide transportation to Hospital de Órbigo at no extra charge).

Puente and Hospital de Órbigo are two very nearby villages, located on opposed banks of the river, and in practice belong to the same municipality. Their name comes from the old pilgrim’s hospital founded by the Knights Hospitaller; currently, the most remarkable monument in it is the medieval bridge.

Today we can choose between two alternatives: the historical route, that continues along the roadway, or a rural variant that crosses the villages of Santibáñez de Valdeiglesias and San Justo the la Vega. The terrain starts becoming slightly more hilly, though without much difficulty at all.

Astorga, our goal today, is a beautiful city of roman origins, known for its sweets and chocolates. We can also visit there the Episcopal Palace, designed by Antonio Gaudí.

In today’s stage, we finally leave behind the castilian flatlands to get into the León mountains, in a soft but constant climb.

The region we are crossing is the homeland of the maragatos, a people with distinctive customs and dresses that largely kept its own identity until the beginning of XX century.

We’ll spend the night in Rabanal del Camino, a small village with stone houses.

In today’s stage we’ll climb to the Cruz de Ferro (iron cross), the highest point in the Camino, where pilgrims traditionally leave a stone at the foot of the cross.

After it, we leave the León mountains behind and we enter the region of El Bierzo, where we’ll first find El Acebo, a village whose inhabitants were exempted from taxes by the king in exchange of keeping the Camino walkable during the winter.

Ponferrada, our destination, is relevant for being the base of the Knight Templars, who during the Middle Ages protected the whole region. Their impressive castle is a must see. We can also visit the “Fábrica de la Luz”, a technological museum installed in an old power plant.