Astorga to Foncebadón
Ascent
- Distance
- 25.8 km
- Climb
- 576 m up, 16 m down
- Ground
- 870 to 1,437 m
- Time
- 6 to 8 hours
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Underfoot
- dirt, mountain, cobblestone
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
You climb into the mountains of the Maragatería, through stone villages that feel abandoned by time but not by dignity. The air thins and cools. After weeks of flatland, the uphill pull in your calves is almost welcome. Foncebadón was a ghost village a generation ago — now pilgrims have brought it back to life. Tomorrow you will reach Cruz de Ferro, the highest and deepest point of the Camino. Tonight, in this half-ruined village above the clouds, you prepare. Something in you knows that what comes next will matter.
What pilgrims often meet here
- Relief at returning to mountains after the meseta and plains
- The haunting beauty of semi-abandoned stone villages
- Carrying a stone from home, feeling its weight in a new way
- Quiet anticipation of tomorrow's Cruz de Ferro ritual
What are you preparing to let go of at the cross?
The ground
Steady gradual climb through the Maragatería region. Traditional stone villages. The climb steepens after Rabanal del Camino.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Astorga 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, Ascent, 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.