stage 8. Ponferrada - Villafranca del Bierzo
Set off from the Basilica of La Encina and head down the Calle Mateo Garza. From there, go down the Paseo Huertas del Sacramento towards Compostilla and the church of Nuestra Señora del Refugio.
Pass through Columbrianos, a village that had a hospital and still has remnants of a Roman road. The next stop is Fuentes Nuevas. Pass through here along the Calle Real and 2 kilometres further on you come to Camponaraya, with its hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad.
You enter Cacabelos via the Calle de los Peregrinos. This was once an important Roman town and the nearby Castrum Bergidum was the birthplace of the Bierzo.
Leave Cacabelos via the 18th century bridge over the river Cúa. To your right you can see the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Quinta Angustia, called the Black Virgin for her role as a representation of the mother earth
3 kilometres further on and you come to Pieros. The parish church here was dedicated to San Martín in 1086.
Three kilometres further on, leave the road and take a track that goes for 2 kilometres to the famous Camino de la Virgen, which takes you directly to the Hermitage of Santiago, built in the 12th century.
This Romanesque hermitage, with Jacobean privilege, as declared by the Abbot of the Collegiate of San Isidoro of Leon, Antonio Viñayo, in his guide to the Way of Saint James, announces to us that we have reached the end of the stage. You have arrived at Villafranca del Bierzo.
Length of stage
23,5 Kilometre
TOWNS/VILLAGES ON THIS STAGE
Compostilla
Compostilla is a district attached to Ponferrada, whose development is an outcome of the power station built here in 1949, the first one in Spain.
Columbrianos
There is evidence of a pre-Roman hillfort here. Vineyards are now a common part of the landscape, presided over the hermitages of San Juan and San Blas.
Fuentes Nuevas
At 4 kilometres outside Ponferrada, this area is regarded as a residential suburb of the city. Hermitage of the Campo Divino Cristo.
Camponaraya
Capital of the municipality with the same name, it has always been an important part of the Way of Saint James, given that in other times it had two hospitals for pilgrims: Soledad and San Juan de Jaberas.
Cacabelos
Capital of a municipality, it gets special mentions in all the guides to the Way of Saint James, since nearby you can see the Roman settlement of Castro Ventosa, associated with the city of Bergidum Flavium, considered to be the birthplace of the Bierzo region- Sanctuary of the Quinta Angustia.
Pieros
This village has a stone with the date of consecration of the parish church of San Martín in 1086. The village festivals are on 11 November
Villafranca
The origins of Villafranca del Bierzo are associated with the monastery of Santa María de Cluniaco. The town has always been very welcoming to pilgrims, and once had five hospitals. Pilgrims can receive the Jubilee at the Puerta del Perdón of the church of Santiago.
The 16th century castle of the Marqueses de Villafranca was built by Pedro de Toledo and has coats of arms of the Valcarce, Pimentel and Álvarez de Toledo families. The marquis of Villafranca was the founder of the convent of La Anunciada in 1606.
The Collegiate of Santa María, built on the site of the old monastery of Cluniato, is of the late Gothic style. Other outstanding features of the town include the Convento de San José, founded in the 17th c, the church of San Francisco, San Nicolás el Real, a Jesuit monastery of the 17th c…
But there is a lot more to see here. It is also famous for the Calle del Agua, an ideal place for a meal and a drink, and for those who enjoy a walk amongst the stone houses and palaces. The novelist Gil y Carrasco was born here. Faithful to the traditions of Santiago, Villafranca holds it festivals on 25 July, the Day of the Apostle.
HOSTEL OF CACABELOS
HOSTEL AVE FÉNIX DE FAMILIA JATO
MUNICIPAL HOSTEL OF VILLAFRANCA DEL BIERZO
- Address: Plaza del Santuario (at the village exit)
- Where: Cacabelos
- Tel. +34 987 546 011
- Owner: Municipal
- Very clean and well kept.
70 bunk beds.
Open from April to October. Price: 3€.
Open from 12:00 to 22:30.
SERVICES:
- Wash basins
- Washing machine
- Fridge
- Hot water
- 8 showers
- 8 toilets, with a toilet for the disabled
- Lockers and wardrobes
- First aid kit
- Drink’s machine
- Portable coffee machine
- Washing line
- Dining room
- Terrace
- Public telephone
- Enclosed area for bikes
- Coverage for mobile phones
- Sockets for recharging batteries
NEARBY SERVICES:
- Information for pilgrims
- Telephone booth
- Cash machine
- Pharmacy
- Repair workshop
- Grocer's
- Medical assistance
- Butcher's
- Baker's
- Bar-Restaurant
- Internet, call centre
- Address: Calle Santiago nº 10
- Where: Villafranca del Bierzo
- Tel. +34 987 540 229
- E-mail: refugioavefenix@wanadoo.es / jjato@latinmail.com
- Owner: Asociación Internacional de Peregrinos Ave Fénix
- 77 bunk beds.
400 metres from the church there is a plot of land for camping. There are also plans to install a marquee with 20 bunks and toilets.
E-mail address: jjato@latinmail.com.
Reasonably well kept.
Open all year.
Price: donation of 6 euros, and free for pilgrims in need.
Open from 12:00 to 23:00 (no closing time in summer).
SERVICES:
- 5 sinks
- Washing machine
- Heating
- Hot water, with solar energy and butane
- 11 showers, one for the disabled
- 11 toilets, one for the disabled
- First aid kit with sick bay
- Drink’s machine
- Coffee machine
- Washing line
- The hostel prepares very economical meals for pilgrims only.
- Meeting room
- Dining room
- Terrace
- Public telephone
- Enclosed area for bikes
- Coverage for mobile phones
- Sockets for recharging batteries
NEARBY SERVICES:
- Information for pilgrims
- Telephone booth
- Cash machine
- Pharmacy
- Repair workshop
- Grocer's
- Medical assistance
- Butcher's
- Baker's
- Bar-Restaurant
- Internet (available at hostel)
- Address: To the right of the church of Santiago, the first building in the village
- Where: Villafranca del Bierzo
- Tel. +34 987 542 680 - +34 987 540 089 - +34 987 540 028
- Owner: Town Hall
- It has 73 beds, 62 are bunks beds and the others are mattresses on the floor. In summer, Villafranca del Bierzo offers a camp site with tents and bathrooms for over 200 pilgrims.
Well kept.
Open from Holy Week to early November. Price 4 €.
Open from 12:00 to 22:30.
SERVICES:
- Wash basins
- Washing machine
- Fridge
- Hot water
- 4 showers
- 4 toilets
- First aid kit
- Drink’s machine
- Coffee machine
- Washing line
- Kitchen
- Meeting room
- Dining room
- Terrace
- Public telephone
- Enclosed area for bikes
- Stable and land with space for 5 horses)
- Coverage for mobile phones
- Sockets for recharging batteries
NEARBY SERVICES:
- Information for pilgrims
- Telephone booth
- Cash machine
- Pharmacy
- Repair workshop
- Grocer's
- Medical assistance
- Butcher's
- Baker's
- Bar-Restaurant
- Internet (available at hostel)