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The Via de La Plata



The Via de La Plata (commonly translated as ‘Silver Way’ as the route was used by the Romans to carry the silver they mined although the word ‘plata’ may come from the Arabic al-balat which means cobbled paving showing that the road was built by the Romans) connects Seville to Astorga a distance of 1000km which takes about 7-8 weeks to walk passing through 4 regions and 7 provinces. Traditionally this route was taken by pilgrims from North Africa.










The route continues from Seville heading north through Merida, Caceres, Salamanca and Zamora where pilgrims can either choose to head to Astorga to join the Camino Frances or to go via Pueblo de Sanabria (or the route to Verin) through Ourense to Santiago.


The Way itself is described as ‘not very taxing’ as far as Astorga although the distances between town and villages (and therefore accommodation and refreshments) are often quite long and upon entering Galicia the there are steep climbs and descents (http://www.godesalco.com/plan/plata lists stages on this route and has height profiles).



In Summer the route can be VERY hot (during July and August) so the general; advice is not to walk during these months (see https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/is-this-camino-really-not-walkable-in-july.10585/ for more information about this). April-June and September-October seem to be the months that most people advise walking and it is quieter than the Camino Frances – in 2015 172,206 of pilgrims arriving in Santiago walked the Camino Frances (65,61% of the total) compared to 9,221 walking the Via de la Plata (3,51% of the total) (information taken from http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgrims-office/statistics/?anio=2015&mes).
Along the Way there are several Roman remains to be seen (the greatest number are in Merida) as well as several Cathedral and Romanesque Churches  and before Merida there is hostal accommodation every 20-25km and every 30-35km after that point (according to the csj).





A section of Roman road along the Via de la Plata (taken from http://caminoways.com/media/21next4-articlelarge155.jpg)


















Guide books are available on this route (information taken from www.csj.org.uk):
Guía del Camino Mozarabe de Santiago: Vía de la Plata, Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago Vía de la Plata, Seville: 2011.  Available from the Asociación, Calle San Jacinto 25 Portal 6, Local 4, 41010 Sevilla, Tel.  95 43 35 274 or 696 60 06 02 or on their website: www.viaplata.org)
Way of St. James: Vía de la Plata, Alison Raju, Cicerone Press 2nd edition 2005, 310pp.  ISBN: 1-85284-444-2 (this is no longer published and is out dated but a new edition is meant to be being written).
The Confraternity of St James has a guide in three sections, all available from their Bookshop
There is also a free guide at http://www.viadelaplataguide.net/
A simple map of the route with some points of interest is available from http://www.rutadelaplata.com/en/

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