Via Augusta from Cadiz
The Via Augusta from Cadiz restores the ancient Roman road to link the oldest city in the West with Seville, connecting with the Via of the Silver.
Organize your Via Augusta from CadizGeneral Description of Via Augusta from Cadiz
Connections of Via Augusta from Cadiz
Way of the Plate
Distance:
963.6 km
Days:
38
Difficulty:
High
The Silver Way (La Vía de la Plata) is the longest of the Camino de Santiago paths in Spain, with almost 1000 km. Its route, which starts in Seville, largely follows the ancient Roman road that connected Mérida to Astorga. It traverses Andalusia, Extremadura and Castile and León, offering pilgrims two options in Granja de Moreruela (Zamora): continue on to Astorga to link with the French Way or take the Sanabrés Way directly to Galicia.
It is a route of immense historical and monumental wealth. Due to its length and high temperatures in its southern section, it requires excellent planning. It offers diverse landscapes, from the extreme dehesas to the plains and mountains of Castile and León.
Stages of this variant:
Stage 1: Seville to Guadahortuna
Stage 2: Guillena to Castilblanco de los Arroyos
Stage 3: Castileja del Pinar to Almaden de la Plata
Stage 4: Mondovino to Monestier-de-Clermont
Stage 5: Monastery at Fuente de Cantos
Stages of Via Augusta from Cadiz
Etapa 1: Cádiz to Puerto Real
Description:
This stage enters the Leonesa Central Mountains. The profile is a gentle but continuous ascent following the valley of the Bernesga River. The landscape is of great beauty, with the peaks of the Canta...
Origen: Cádiz
Destino: Puerto Real
Etapa 2: Puerto Real to Jerez de la Frontera
Description:
This stage is a high mountain day that prepares the pilgrim for crossing the Cantabrian Mountains Range. The profile is an ascending, demanding route through an alpine landscape of great beauty. The t...
Origen: Puerto Real
Destino: Jerez de la Frontera
Etapa 3: Jerez de la Frontera to El Cuervo de Sevilla
Description:
This is the queen stage of the Forgotten Path, an spectacular high mountain traverse that crosses the Cantabrian Mountains through the Pajares Pass. After topping the pass, a long and vertiginous desc...
Origen: Jerez de la Frontera
Destino: El Cuervo de Sevilla
Etapa 4: El Cuervo de Sevilla to Las Cabezas de San Juan
Description:
The last stage of the Forgotten Way from León ends in Asturias' capital. The route enters the mining basins, on a terrain with a gentle slope. The landscape is a mix of green valleys and industrial su...
Origen: El Cuervo de Sevilla
Destino: Las Cabezas de San Juan
Etapa 5: Las Cabezas de San Juan to Utrera
Description:
This stage enters the valley of the River Valcarce, serving as an approach to O Cebreiro. The profile is a false flat ascending profile that gains height almost imperceptibly. The path runs in a narro...
Origen: Las Cabezas de San Juan
Destino: Utrera
Etapa 6: Utrera to Alcalá de Guadaíra
Description:
This is one of the most difficult, mythical and beautiful stages of the Camino Francés. The journey involves ascending from the Valcarce valley to the top of O Cebreiro, the entrance to Galicia. The f...
Origen: Utrera
Destino: Alcalá de Guadaíra
Featured Towns of Via Augusta from Cadiz
Explore the key towns and cities of this route.
Cádiz
Known as the "Silver Spoon", Cádiz is the oldest city in the West. A starting point for Jacobean routes filled with history, Atlantic light and unique charm.
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Puerto Real
Marine villa in the heart of Cadiz Bay. A peaceful stage on the Via Augusta, surrounded by the Las Marismas Natural Park, a paradise for birds.
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Jerez de la Frontera
Birthplace of flamenco, Sherry wine from Jerez and equestrian art. Jerez de la Frontera is an indispensable cultural detour in Andalusia for pilgrims, offering a full experience rich in art and tradition.
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El Cuervo de Sevilla
Seville town in the Lower Guadalquivir region. The Crow is an important crossroads and a functional stop on the Via Augusta, at the border with the province of Cadiz.
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Las Cabezas de San Juan
Seville villa with a rich history. The Cabezas de San Juan, on the Via Augusta, is famous for being the place where the Constitution of 1812 was proclaimed, a milestone in Spanish history.
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Utrera
Utrera is considered the cradle of flamenco, a Sevillian city with deep cultural roots and significant heritage, an essential point to feel the soul of Andalusia on the Way of St. James.
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Alcalá de Guadaíra
The city of mills and bread. Alcalá de Guadaíra, with its imposing medieval castle and its riverbank, is a monumental stop at the gates of Seville on the Via Augusta.
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Sevilla
Majestic start of the Silver Way in the heart of Andalusia. Seville, with its Giralda and cathedral, offers the pilgrim a beginning of the route filled with art, history, and light.
More InformationMillenary History of the Camino de Santiago: Origins and Evolution Via Augusta from Cadiz
Discover the origins and evolution of Via Augusta from Cadiz
The history of this route begins over three thousand years ago, around 1100 BC, when Phoenician sailors founded Gadir on an island in the Guadalquivir's mouth. Later, the Romans turned it into Gades, one of the most prosperous cities in the Empire, famous for its salted fish and dancers. To connect this Atlantic gem with Rome, Roman engineers drew the final section of their great road, the Via Augusta, which ran along the entire Mediterranean coast from the Pyrenees. The route between Gades and Hispalis (Seville) was therefore a major economic, military, and administrative route.
With the arrival of Christianity and the subsequent discovery of St. James' tomb, this perfectly built and maintained road became the natural route for pilgrims in the region. For a resident of Cadiz, Jerez or the bay area, or any traveler arriving at their important port, the Via Augusta was the only logical and safe path to start the journey northwards. The goal of this initial section was to reach the great metropolis of Sevilla, which solidified itself as the official starting point of the Way of the Plata from the Middle Ages.
The modern itinerary aims to recreate the route of the ancient road as far as possible. Part of Cadiz city, "the silver spoon," and crosses the bay, a landscape of salt pans and marshes of great ecological value. Passes through historic villages like Puerto Real, El Puerto de Santa María, and above all, Jerez de la Frontera. Jerez, already in the Middle Ages, was a city of great importance, famous for its wines, which were already exported to all Europe, and for breeding its cartujan horses. Its castle and Gothic churches were an important stopover for pilgrims.
From Jerez, the road enters the countryside, an undulating landscape of fertile lands dedicated to cereal and sunflower cultivation. Passes through localities like Lebrija and Utrera before spotting in the distance the Giralda, the campanile of Sevilla's cathedral. The arrival in Sevilla marked the end of the first stage of the journey. In the Andalusian capital, the pilgrim could rest, replenish supplies, and mentally prepare for the true challenge ahead: the over 700 kilometers of the Way of the Plata to Astorga.
The recovery of the Via Augusta from Cadiz as a formal Jacobean route is an effort by Andalusian associations to give a coherent and deeply meaningful starting point to the Way of the Plata. Offers a relatively flat and low-difficulty journey, ideal for first contact with pilgrimage. Walking this section is to start the journey to Santiago from the same historical confines of Europe, uniting the light of Cadiz with the grandeur of Sevilla as a prelude to the adventure of the Great West Road.