From Ponferada to Villafranca del Bierzo, Camino Frances Stage no. 22

Basic Information

• Starting Point: Ponferrada, Spain – A historic city with a huge Templar castle from the 12th century. With over 60,000 people, you can find in town all services for both pilgrims and tourists, including 5 pilgrim hostels, and plenty of good restaurants of all kinds. Located roughly 210 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela, it is also one of the common starting points of Camino Frances, especially for Spanish people. Which means that the number of pilgrims will even increase from here.
• Ending Point: Villafranca del Bierzo, Spain – A charming medieval town at 505m, nestled in the foothills of the León Mountains. Considered by many one of the most beautiful towns on the entire Camino. With roughly 3,000 inhabitants, you will find all services in town, including nine! pilgrim albergues, and some posh hotels.
• Availability of an alternative route: Yes, a small alternative, that adds about 1.5 km to your overall distance. You avoid a few kilometers of road walking, pass through a biosphere reserve (good for bird-watchers), a nice path but nothing that would blow your mind away, considering the beauty of the last stage.
• Distance: Official camino: 23 km (Download GPS here). Alternative route: 24.5 km (Download GPS here).
• Online Map: Official camino: map. Alternative route: map.
• Elevation Difference: Official Camino: +270 m ascent, -300 m descent. Alternative route: +280 m ascent, -310 m descent.
• Difficulty Score: 2/5.
• Beauty Score: 3/5 – Vineyards, orchards, and mountain backdrops, not a bad stage, with a beautiful village of Villafranca as a reward for your effort.
• Terrain/Asphalt Walking Ratio:
  • Official Camino: 35% trails, 65% asphalt, on the road, or right next to the road.
  • Alternative route: 45% trails, 55% asphalt.
• Next stage: Camino Frances Stage no. 23, Villafranca del Bierzo – O Cebreiro.
• Previous stage: Camino Frances Stage no. 21, Foncebadon – Ponferrada.

Elevation profile for the routes

– Official camino, some hills here and there, but overall not a difficult profile. The first 17 kilometers are almost flat.

– Alternative camino route, the first 17 km are identical, then you have a bit of different profile, but the overall elevation gained and lost is almost the same as the official camino. As you can see on the chart, the alternative route is about 1.5 km longer.

Advanced Info About the Stage

• Trail Marking: Very well marked, including the alternative route. In a place called Cacabelos, a little know Camino called Camino Olvidado merges with Camino Frances. In theory you may notice some pilgrims walking from a strange direction, but the chances aren’t too high. Olvidado is a very solitary camino. When I walked it in spring 2022, I met just about 7 pilgrims in total, on over 500 kilometers. But it is a beautiful path, and you can read more about it on the official website of this camino.
• Alternative route info: The alternative route splits from the official camino exactly here. Instead of continuing straight you turn right. The route is well indicated. After roughly 300 meters you turn left, and following a nice small path over the biosphere reserve, you reach a small village called Valtuille de Ariba with a very nice donation based albergue called Acogida la Biznaga. It is a good alternative for a place to sleep tonight, if you want to avoid the crowds in Villafranca. From Valtuille de Ariba you again follow a nice small path until you eventually connect with the official camino route exactly here. The alternative way doesn’t pass through some unforgettable landscapes, but taking it you avoid some road walking and the crowds for a while, plus have a chance to stay in the nice albergue in Valtuiller de Ariba.
• Natural Highlights: Nothing worth a special mention, except of the waterfall on the outskirts of Villafranca (location on Google maps here), which makes for a nice afternoon stroll out of the town without a backpack :). About 1.5 km from the town center of Villafranca. However, the last part of today’s stage is definitely the nicest one, with private vineyards and rolling hills all around you.
• Historical & Cultural Highlights:
  • Archeological museum of Cacabelos: A small museum with a nice exposition that will allow you to learn more about the local place, and how people lived here once, many years ago. A symbolic entrance fee of 1.5 euro, opening hours change during the season, but typically open from 10 to 2pm, which is exactly the time when you can be passing by the village. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
  • Villafranca’s Puerta del Perdon: Medieval “Door of Forgiveness” for pilgrims unable to reach Santiago. Location and Google maps here. Pilgrims who out of sheer exhaustion after a long journey, often across half of Europe, could not reach Santiago, had a chance to have their sins forgotten here, in a church of St. James in Villafranca. This isn’t an option anymore for modern-day pilgrim, and you’ll have to reach Santiago :).
  • The town center of Villafranca. Villafranca is one of the posh towns of the camino. Some houses resemble small castles, and everything is perfectly maintained. While not a great place to live in my opinion (and too expensive too), if makes for a beautiful afternoon stroll, without a need of having a specific goal on your mind. Just walk the streets and enjoy the beauty of the architecture.
• Camping/Bivouac Options: There is one official camping place on today’s stage, south of Villafranca, about 2.5 km away from the Camino, called Camping El Lago. As the name suggest, it is located near a small lake. The camping is very clean and well maintained with friendly owners and atmosphere. Definitely a good place for one night, if you do not mind the detour and prefer to camp instead of staying in the albergue. Location and reviews on Google maps here. The stage isn’t ideal for wild camping, but you can try your chances on the small trails around Villafranca.
• Dog-Friendly Score: 3/5: A decent stage for dogs, but quite a bit of road walking. Make sure to walk the alternative route to save some kilometers on the road with your dog.  There are two dog-friendly pilgrim hostels in Villafranca. One is Ave Fenix (location and reviews on Google maps here) and the other one Vina Femita (location and reviews on Google maps here). The second one accepts dogs only in private rooms, so you’ll have to pay extra.
• Special Remarks: This region of Spain is very foggy, especially in the autumn (one of the high seasons on Camino Frances). It can sometimes make the navigation tricky, and also the air feels much colder on a foggy day than it does on a one without fog. That’s something to take into consideration when planning your stages. On the other hand, this means a temperature inversion is a common phenomenon here, and from the high points of the trail you can sometimes enjoy beautiful views with the valley covered in clouds while you are basking in the sun :).

My picks for accommodation on this stage

1. Albergue de Peregrinos de Cacabelos, km 16. A donation based pilgrim hostel with 60 beds in 30 rooms, so especially good for couples who want some privacy. It is an atypical building (wooden cabins in a circle), with a basic kitchen outside. They do not accept reservations and open at 2pm. Location and reviews on Google maps here. The nice village of Cacabelos has all services, including shop and pharmacy.
2. Acogida La Biznaga, Valtuille de Ariba (km 20, on the alternative route). Another nice homely donation-based pilgrim hostel. Friendly host, home-made food, and five dogs–great for dog lovers, but sure enough not for everyone :). The communal dinner is 10 euro extra, and definitely worth taking. Check-in from 1pm, 7 beds only, recommended to make a reservation on the following phone number: +34 722 512 652. Location and reviews on Google maps here.
3. Albergue Leo, Villafranca del Bierzo, km 24. The best rated albergue in Villafranca, across all pilgrim platforms. 14 euro/night, 24 beds in 7 rooms, very clean and quiet, outside of the main buzz of Villafranca. Friendly hosts and a lot of attention to detail make it a clear no. 1 choice in the town. Check-in from 1pm, reservations on the following phone numbers: +34 987 542 658, +34 658 049 244. Location and reviews on Google maps here.

Pictures from the stage

– Even a graveyard can be sometimes a highlight of a stage on the camino.

– Crossing the highway is a part of every single Camino de Santiago…

– Little hills in the second part of today’s stage.

– We are back mostly to flat walking today, but the landscape isn’t too bad.
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– Another nice shot from Villafranca.

– The main square of Villafranca del Bierzo on a sunny August afternoon. A bit busy, sure enough half of the people at the terraces are pilgrims 🙂

– The streets of Villafranca del Bierzo in the evening

Few tips at the end

• Take it easy in the evening, hard stage is in front of you. Beautiful and touristic Villafranca del Bierzo offers a lot of temptations for weary pilgrim :). Plenty of bars and restaurants, with famous local wines and beautiful atmosphere. Before falling for one of them, however, remember that tomorrow is a hard stage with over 1,000 meters of climbing  (even more on the recommended alternative route). It is better taking it easy in the evening, to save some strengths for the upcoming stage.

Next/Previous Stage

• Next stage: Camino Frances Stage no. 23, Villafranca del Bierzo – O Cebreiro.
• Previous stage: Camino Frances Stage no. 21, Foncebadon – Ponferrada.