Skip to main content

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/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Camino Primitivo

The Camino Primitivo (or the Original Way) is reportedly the very first Camino Way to Santiago in the 9 th century when most of Spain was under the control of the Moors and it runs from near the city of Ovideo in Asturias as it starts in Villavicosa (which also lies on the Camino Norte so many people follow this Way from   Basque city of San Sebastian (Donosti in Basque) or in from the French border at Irun ( this route then hugs the Bay of Biscay passing through Guernica, Bilbao, Santander, Llanes before going under the Picos de Europa and then heads along the coast to Ovideo) before branching off onto the Primitivo which goes across the mountains and through the city of Lugo before joining the Frances at Melide. The route is 320km long. Image taken from https://viaalpina2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/camino-del-norte-camino-primitivo/
1 comment
Read more

Symbols of the three main Christian Pilgrimages

The symbol of the Pilgrim to Santiago is the Scallop shell  of which many can be found on the coast of Galicia and it is actually a symbol of the Pilgrimage (and has become a symbol of other Christian Pilgrimages too) partly because you could find the shell easily there and so could go back home and show it off as proof that you had done the Pilgrimage. It has also been included in carvings in some Churches.
1 comment
Read more

Pilgrims' Trail to Saint Michels Mont, France

I have only walked two of the Camino routes (the Frances and Portuguese) and still want to try many of the others and yet I am also finding other Pilgrimage routes that I want to walk - I did the Pilgrims' Way in the summer which starts from Winchester which is also the starting point for the Pilgrims' Trail a 155 mile route that finishes at Mont St Michel in Normandy, France. The cult of saint Michel was popular in Britain from the 9th century and the Pilgrims walking this way were called Miquelots and many Pilgrims on their way to Santiago. The route is marked by green way markers in Hampshire taking walkers from Winchester to Bishop's Waltham to Southwick and then to Portsmouth where ferries are caught to France and Way markers become blue. Tradition says that, in 709 Saint Michael the Archangel appeared to the bishop of Avranches, Saint Aubert, and told him to build a chapel in his honour on the island. The bishop obeyed and soon sent a group of monks over...
Post a Comment
Read more