Spain
Vía de la Plata
Silver Way
Sevilla → Astorga
- Total distance
- 713 km
- Typical duration
- 28 days
- Stages
- 28
- Average stage
- 25.5 km
- Longest stage
- 38.0 km
- Pilgrims
- ~9k a year
The Vía de la Plata runs from Seville through Extremadura and Castile to Astorga, where it meets the French Way. It follows the course of a Roman road — the name comes from the Arabic al-balat, "the paved way", not from silver — past Mérida's aqueducts, theatres and temples, which are the finest Roman remains in Spain.
It is long, hot and empty. Stages of thirty-five kilometres between villages are routine, shade is scarce, and walking it in July or August is genuinely dangerous. Those who walk it in spring describe the solitude and the Extremaduran dehesa as unmatched by any other route.
Route map
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Trail geometry & map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Stages
The conventional stage division. Distances over 30 km are highlighted — those are the days worth planning around.
| # | Stage | Distance | Total | Ascent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sevilla→Guillena | 22.0 km | 22.0 | 90 m | |
| 2 | Guillena→Castilblanco de los Arroyos | 18.0 km | 40.0 | 300 m | |
| 3 | Castilblanco de los Arroyos→Almadén de la Plata | 29.0 km | 69.0 | 480 m | Sixteen kilometres of tarmac before entering the Sierra Norte park. |
| 4 | Almadén de la Plata→Monesterio | 35.0 km | 104.0 | 700 m | A very long day through dehesa with no services at the midpoint. |
| 5 | Monesterio→Fuente de Cantos | 21.0 km | 125.0 | 220 m | |
| 6 | Fuente de Cantos→Zafra | 25.0 km | 150.0 | 230 m | |
| 7 | Zafra→Villafranca de los Barros | 20.0 km | 170.0 | 180 m | |
| 8 | Villafranca de los Barros→Torremejía | 28.0 km | 198.0 | 160 m | Twenty-eight kilometres of straight vineyard track with no shade whatsoever. |
| 9 | Torremejía→Mérida | 16.0 km | 214.0 | 110 m | |
| 10 | Mérida→Alcuéscar | 37.0 km | 251.0 | 480 m | The longest stage on the route. |
| 11 | Alcuéscar→Valdesalor | 26.0 km | 277.0 | 280 m | |
| 12 | Valdesalor→Cáceres | 12.0 km | 289.0 | 140 m | |
| 13 | Cáceres→Embalse de Alcántara | 33.0 km | 322.0 | 320 m | |
| 14 | Embalse de Alcántara→Grimaldo | 21.0 km | 343.0 | 300 m | |
| 15 | Grimaldo→Carcaboso | 31.0 km | 374.0 | 340 m | |
| 16 | Carcaboso→Aldeanueva del Camino | 38.0 km | 412.0 | 420 m | Passes the Roman arch of Cáparra. No services for long stretches; often split at Oliva de Plasencia. |
| 17 | Aldeanueva del Camino→La Calzada de Béjar | 22.0 km | 434.0 | 560 m | |
| 18 | La Calzada de Béjar→Fuenterroble de Salvatierra | 20.0 km | 454.0 | 340 m | |
| 19 | Fuenterroble de Salvatierra→San Pedro de Rozados | 28.0 km | 482.0 | 420 m | |
| 20 | San Pedro de Rozados→Salamanca | 24.0 km | 506.0 | 190 m | |
| 21 | Salamanca→El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino | 36.0 km | 542.0 | 260 m | |
| 22 | El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino→Zamora | 32.0 km | 574.0 | 230 m | |
| 23 | Zamora→Montamarta | 19.0 km | 593.0 | 150 m | |
| 24 | Montamarta→Granja de Moreruela | 24.0 km | 617.0 | 200 m | The Camino Sanabrés branches west here for Santiago; the Vía de la Plata continues north to Astorga. |
| 25 | Granja de Moreruela→Benavente | 27.0 km | 644.0 | 180 m | |
| 26 | Benavente→Alija del Infantado | 22.0 km | 666.0 | 140 m | |
| 27 | Alija del Infantado→La Bañeza | 22.0 km | 688.0 | 130 m | |
| 28 | La Bañeza→Astorga | 25.0 km | 713.0 | 220 m | Joins the French Way at Astorga. |