Stage Astorga – Ponferrada (By bike)

At about 53 kilometres with a strong elevation gain, this is one of the most mountainous and memorable stages of the Camino Francés by bike. It crosses the Montes de León from end to end, with a long climb to the Cruz de Ferro and a dizzying descent to the Bierzo.

From Astorga the Camino climbs steadily through the Maragatería, leaving aside Castrillo de los Polvazares, a muleteers' village with its cobbled streets. After Rabanal del Camino, a former Templar commandery, the gradient steepens up to Foncebadón, a hamlet reborn thanks to the Camino.

Shortly after, you reach the Cruz de Ferro, at nearly 1,500 metres the highest point of the whole pilgrim route. At the foot of its simple wooden post, pilgrims have for centuries laid a stone brought from their land, one of the most symbolic gestures of the Camino.

Then begins a long, demanding and technical descent through El Acebo and Riego de Ambrós, down to Molinaseca and its elegant medieval bridge over the río Meruelo. Already in the Bierzo valley, you reach Ponferrada, a city presided over by the imposing Templar Castle, which ends this great mountain day.