Foncebadón to Ponferrada
Release
- Distance
- 26.8 km
- Climb
- 232 m up, 1,122 m down
- Ground
- 510 to 1,505 m
- Time
- 7 to 9 hours
- Difficulty
- hard
- Underfoot
- mountain, gravel, dirt, paved
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
The Cruz de Ferro is the emotional summit of the Camino. Pilgrims arrive in the pre-dawn darkness, carrying their stone from home. The iron cross stands on a wooden pole atop a cairn of thousands of stones — each one someone's burden, left behind. The ritual is simple: place your stone, say what you need to say, and walk on. The descent that follows is the longest and steepest on the route. Your knees bear the weight your heart has released.
What pilgrims often meet here
- Arriving at Cruz de Ferro before dawn to be alone
- Unexpected tears when placing the stone
- Feeling physically lighter afterward
- Severe knee pain during the 900-meter descent
- Arriving in Ponferrada exhausted but different
What stone have you been carrying? Can you name it?
The ground
Passes Cruz de Ferro (1,505 m — highest point on the Camino Frances). Severe descent through mountain villages. Rocky and steep in places.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Foncebadón 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, Release, 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.