Peñalba de Santiago with its 10C untouched Mozarabic church and its traditional stone houses with slate roofs and dark wooden balconies is a real gem (and don’t forget the hermit cave of San Genadio) and there are several different walking trails from Ponferrada to take you there.
I have just walked there for the third time and now have three different ideas for how other forum members might want to incorporate a visit into their Invierno plans.
One day option. Walk up to Peñalba, visit the church and the village, eat in the Cantina, and then go hang out by the parking lot and find someone who will drive you back to Ponferrada. There is no public transportation, except for one bus “on demand”, but I easily found a ride back.
Two day option. Walk up to Peñalba (taking the shorter tracks, about 20 KM, which take you through San Clemente) and then walk on to Montes de Valdueza, where there is an Albergue in the ancient monastery. If you are a Pilgrim, the hospitalera, Pilar, will make you dinner and bring you food for breakfast. Next day, walk to As Médulas on a very well marked “ pista forestal”. This is a wide track suitable for driving, so the incline is not excessive, there are no jagged rocks or otherwise challenging aspects, there is no river crossing. I just finished doing this, and it had been raining all night, but my feet arrived perfectly dry at my destination. The one potential downside with this option, especially for first time pilgrims, is that you would miss Villavieja and the castle at Cornatel. Since you join the Camino at Médulas, this really does not add two days to your Invierno, but just one. The other thing to keep in mind is that between starting and ending points there is no town, but I did meet several people along the way.
Three day option. This is the one that Rebecca and I did years ago. There’s a thread about it on the forum. Day one from Ponferrada up to El Acebo on the truly lovely trail, Puentes de Malpaso. Day two, to Peñalba de Santiago via the Roman forge at Compludo. (This is not the most beautiful entrance to Peñalba in my experience, but it does allow you to see a lot). You can sleep in Peñalba because there is now an Albergue there. Day three, back to Ponferrada via the monastery at Montes de Valdueza.
Happy to answer any questions!
I have just walked there for the third time and now have three different ideas for how other forum members might want to incorporate a visit into their Invierno plans.
One day option. Walk up to Peñalba, visit the church and the village, eat in the Cantina, and then go hang out by the parking lot and find someone who will drive you back to Ponferrada. There is no public transportation, except for one bus “on demand”, but I easily found a ride back.
Two day option. Walk up to Peñalba (taking the shorter tracks, about 20 KM, which take you through San Clemente) and then walk on to Montes de Valdueza, where there is an Albergue in the ancient monastery. If you are a Pilgrim, the hospitalera, Pilar, will make you dinner and bring you food for breakfast. Next day, walk to As Médulas on a very well marked “ pista forestal”. This is a wide track suitable for driving, so the incline is not excessive, there are no jagged rocks or otherwise challenging aspects, there is no river crossing. I just finished doing this, and it had been raining all night, but my feet arrived perfectly dry at my destination. The one potential downside with this option, especially for first time pilgrims, is that you would miss Villavieja and the castle at Cornatel. Since you join the Camino at Médulas, this really does not add two days to your Invierno, but just one. The other thing to keep in mind is that between starting and ending points there is no town, but I did meet several people along the way.
Three day option. This is the one that Rebecca and I did years ago. There’s a thread about it on the forum. Day one from Ponferrada up to El Acebo on the truly lovely trail, Puentes de Malpaso. Day two, to Peñalba de Santiago via the Roman forge at Compludo. (This is not the most beautiful entrance to Peñalba in my experience, but it does allow you to see a lot). You can sleep in Peñalba because there is now an Albergue there. Day three, back to Ponferrada via the monastery at Montes de Valdueza.
Happy to answer any questions!
