Mansilla de las Mulas to León
Reentry
- Distance
- 18.4 km
- Climb
- 107 m up, 73 m down
- Ground
- 800 to 840 m
- Time
- 4 to 5 hours
- Difficulty
- easy
- Underfoot
- paved, urban
Where this day sits on the Camino Francés
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 33 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
León marks the end of the meseta and the beginning of the mountains. After days of emptiness, the city feels overwhelming — noise, traffic, choices, stimulation. The cathedral's stained glass is the largest medieval collection in Europe. Pilgrims often take a rest day here, and the city has a way of testing your resolve. The meseta simplified your life. León complicates it again.
What pilgrims often meet here
- Sensory overload after days of open plains
- Temptation to take multiple rest days
- Standing inside the cathedral and weeping at the light
- Re-evaluating what you need versus what you want
After the simplicity of the meseta, what do you actually miss?
The ground
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Mansilla de las Mulas depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
In Pilgrim's Honor mode you can walk this stage as it is drawn here, and save its maps for days with no signal. The morning opens with this day's word, Reentry, and its story. When you arrive, it asks the question above, and you can answer out loud. Your walk stays on your phone.
With Pilgrim on your phone, this opens the stage, ready to begin. Without it, you'll see the stage and where to get the app.