Ponferrada —> Peñalba de Santiago —> Monasterio de San Pedro de Montes —> Las Medulas

[AZtor]

Hi all,

I was thinking of doing an alternate opening and going from Ponferrada —> Peñalba de Santiago —> Monasterio de San Pedro de Montes —> Las Medulas.

Do any of you have experience with this route or have visited Peñalba de Santiago & Monasterio de San Pedro de Montes?

Is there somewhere affordable to stay in these places? I see that the monastery has an albergue mentioned in the website but I couldn't figure out if it could be booked or if it's even open. Also what about in Peñalba?

I'd love any advice or recollections.

Also if you have any other tips for alternative routes or interesting places to visit off the Invierno I'm all ears.

Thank you!!!

 

[AnneMarie1]

Wow, this is really intriguing. The pre-Romanesque church that is in Penyalba de Santiago is really a big deal. I remember studying about it in architecture class. I didn't remember where exactly it was -- or realize that I'll be so close when I'm Ponferrada -- until reading your message. I'd really like to go there as part of my Invierno adventure in a few weeks! I've fished around online and not found too much on lodging, other than some vacation homes that look kind of pricey unless you have a family or group. That might be the kind of thing that's best done as a taxi detour from Ponferrada rather than an overnight. No public transport, and everyone's saying it's a one-lane, nerve-wracking road if you rent a car and drive. But seriously, when am I likely to be so close to that site again? Thanks for asking this question.

 

[peregrina2000]

I have walked from Ponferrada to El Acebo (NOt backwards on the Francés, but on a beautiful trail called Puentes de Malpaso) to Peñalba de Santiago and back to Ponferrada. Details here. I had intended to walk from Peñalba de Santiago to Las Médulas a few years ago, but I had a GPS meltdown. When I got to Peñalba, I couldn’t pull up any tracks from there to Médulas, and I was reluctant to go without GPS, so I hitch-hiked back to Ponferrada and started the Invierno from there.

There used to be a wonderful private albergue in Peñalba, La Masera, where we stayed when we walked the circle. That place has closed however, very sadly. I don’t know of any place to stay in Peñalba, though some reported that one of the bars found them a bed. There are pricey multi-night-minimum places on vrbo or airbnb.

For those wanting to visit Peñalba off the Francés, it’s a very nice walk from Ponferrada. No public transport, but if you go in season, the odds are very high that there will be someone there who is visiting with a car and who will take you back to Ponferrada. If you take the tour of the church, or speak with the “locals” who are sitting around outside and eager to talk, they will help you.

For those who want to walk from Ponferrada - Peñalba-Médulas, the problem isn’t the route, because there are good tracks. The problem is the lodging in Peñalba or San Pedro de Montes. I can’t find anything, but maybe someone with better sleuthing skills will be successful.

 

[AZtor]

I have walked from Ponferrada to El Acebo (NOt backwards on the Francés, but on a beautiful trail called Puentes de Malpaso) to Peñalba de Santiago and back to Ponferrada. Details here. I had intended to walk from Peñalba de Santiago to Las Médulas a few years ago, but I had a GPS meltdown. When I got to Peñalba, I couldn’t pull up any tracks from there to Médulas, and I was reluctant to go without GPS, so I hitch-hiked back to Ponferrada and started the Invierno from there.

There used to be a wonderful private albergue in Peñalba, La Masera, where we stayed when we walked the circle. That place has closed however, very sadly. I don’t know of any place to stay in Peñalba, though some reported that one of the bars found them a bed. There are pricey multi-night-minimum places on vrbo or airbnb.

For those wanting to visit Peñalba off the Francés, it’s a very nice walk from Ponferrada. No public transport, but if you go in season, the odds are very high that there will be someone there who is visiting with a car and who will take you back to Ponferrada. If you take the tour of the church, or speak with the “locals” who are sitting around outside and eager to talk, they will help you.

For those who want to walk from Ponferrada - Peñalba-Médulas, the problem isn’t the route, because there are good tracks. The problem is the lodging in Peñalba or San Pedro de Montes. I can’t find anything, but maybe someone with better sleuthing skills will be successful.

Thanks Laurie!

Have you any thoughts/experiences on Monasterio de San Pedro de Montes? Do you know if the albergue there is operational?

 

[peregrina2000]

I took a very interesting guided tour of the monastery when we walked from Peñalba to San Pedro to Ponferrada. I didn’t see any signs of an albergue there, but that was years ago. I am hunting around and see that they have a facebook page.

I’ve sent a WhatsApp to the phone number listed and will report back.

And here’s a recent article relevant to the walk.

 

[AZtor]

I took a very interesting guided tour of the monastery when we walked from Peñalba to San Pedro to Ponferrada. I didn’t see any signs of an albergue there, but that was years ago. I am hunting around and see that they have a facebook page.

I’ve sent a WhatsApp to the phone number listed and will report back.

And here’s a recent article relevant to the walk.

Thanks for the heads up about the FB page. Through it I see that the albergue has a FB page as well!

https://www.facebook.com/people/Alb...urfbHyfrvx6uWmKVJJtjiaCSlSvh0NmQM23h0UBA&_rdr

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for the heads up about the FB page. Through it I see that the albergue has a FB page as well!

https://www.facebook.com/people/Alb...urfbHyfrvx6uWmKVJJtjiaCSlSvh0NmQM23h0UBA&_rdr

So, Aztor, how would you walk this? A circle? Connecting from Francés to Invierno?

 

[AZtor]

So, Aztor, how would you walk this? A circle? Connecting from Francés to Invierno?

I'm still thinking it through, but I'm thinking it would be an alternate opening to the Invierno. Starting from Ponferrada. But I'm open to suggestions.

 

[peregrina2000]

I'm still thinking it through, but I'm thinking it would be an alternate opening to the Invierno. Starting from Ponferrada. But I'm open to suggestions.

All the GPS tracks I’ve seen from Ponferrada to Peñalba de Santiago go through Montes de Valdeuza (where the monastery is). Peñalba is about 8 km further on beyond the monastery. So you’d have to go to Peñalba, visit it, and then walk back to Montes de Valdeuza. That’d be a very long day for most people. Then the monastery to Médulas the next day.

Starting from El Acebo would be 26 to Peñalba (coming in from the NW rather than the SE, roughly) and then 8 more to Montes de Valdeusa. That’d also be a long day, but without backtracking.

Montes de Valdeusa to Médulas is about 25 km.

Here’s a random thought. Walk on Day 1 from Ponferrada to monastery and stay in albergue. Day 2 walk to Peñalba de Santiago, visit it, then walk back to monastery and sleep there again (that’d be only 16 kms, but Peñalba deserves a long visit, and those kms are in the mountains). Day 3 to Médulas.

I have received a WhatsApp message from the monastery. I asked if they took in people on foot and the response was — for what days and how many people? So I am assuming you could do the two night stay. Not sure how much time you have though.

 

[peregrina2000]

WhatsApp update (I had asked for more info). My rough translation:

The albergue is open to everyone, but you should reserve ahead of time because it fills up. You can reserve via WhatsApp. The price is 12€ per person. No meals are served but you can make use of the kitchen and dining room. In the kitchen they have coffee and tea available for the guests. There is a cantina in the town and they will serve meals. But you should probably be in touch with them ahead of time because they are not always open.

I checked on google maps and the bar’s name is Cantina de Sara, but I didn’t see a phone number. Looks like it is now only open on weekends, but my guess is that in high season it opens more.

I would definitely be tempted to do the two-night option in the monastery if I am ever so lucky to go back.

Thanks to @AZtor for alerting us to the albergue in the monastery!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I walked this route several years ago, and skipped Ponferrada altogether. I started from El Acebo and followed the Mirada Circulo, a "romeria" path up to Penalba de Santiago that you pick up near the Hostal Trucha Arco Iris and follow down past the Roman forges of Compludo and up the mountainside beyond to Penalba. I spent the night in an Air BnB, (the bar in town also has rooms upstairs, I am told), then walked from Penalba along the waymarked trail to San Pedro de Montes and onward to Las Medullas. The second day, Penalba to Las Medulas, was the single toughest day of Camino hiking I have ever done!
The monastery was still a ruin in those days, an albergue there would be a game-changer for sure.

 

[peregrina2000]

I walked this route several years ago, and skipped Ponferrada altogether.

But don’t forget that you also walked this route with me and we did start in Ponferrada. We walked to El Acebo on the Puentes de Malpaso route and then the next day to Peñalba. Third day back into Ponferrada. The albergue we stayed in in Peñalba is closed, but there is now an airbnb there for 115€.

I wonder if @AZtor wound up walking this as an alternative start to the Invierno. Would love to hear how it went!

Now that the albergue in Montes de Valdeuza is up and running (and looks quite nice!), I think the best way to visit Peñalba at the start of the Invierno is to spend two nights in the albergue.

Day 1 - Ponferrada to Montes de Valdeuza (Reb and I had a very interesting guided tour of the monastery, in ruins, so that would be something nice to do in the afternoon). 20 km, through some beautiful little places. Wikiloc tracks here.

Day 2 - Montes to Peñalba, visit Peñalba (and its pre-Romanesque church), and go back to Montes. I see there is a circle route so it wouldn’t have to be an out and back. About 18 km, which gives you plenty of time for a visit of that amazing little place.

Day 3 - Montes to Médulas. The albergue (which opens for the season in April) tells me that there is a good trail from Montes to Médulas, that is even cyclable and mostly off road. No towns for 25 kms, but makes for a good first day to Médulas where you join the Invierno. I know that Reb had a hard time when she walked Peñalba to Médulas. I don’t know if this is the same route, but one thing to consider is that starting in Montes makes for 7 fewer kms, which is a good chunk less.

This would be a great way to start the Invierno, IMHO!