The Vía de la Plata is a route for those who love silence and don’t shy away from long days. For the most part, you follow an old Roman road from south to north. Along the way, you’ll come across Roman milestones and bridges. In Mérida, the Roman era still stands proud.
In Andalusia and Extremadura, you walk through open countryside with plenty of sky and little shade. The villages are far apart, so some stages are long. Fortunately, you can split many of the long days, as there are smaller places with somewhere to sleep in between. Cities such as Cáceres, Salamanca and Zamora make lovely places to rest. After that, the landscape becomes more northerly and more expansive.
At Granja de Moreruela, you have a choice to make. If you carry on to Astorga, you join the Camino Francés towards Santiago. Or you can take the Camino Sanabrés, via Puebla de Sanabria and Ourense. Decide in good time, because after this point the stages and places to stay are completely different.
Walk this route in April or October. In summer, daytime temperatures reach 37 °C, which is genuinely too hot here. For most pilgrims, spring or autumn is the only good choice.