Stage Ponferrada to Pedrafita do Cebreiro (By bike)

At around 52 kilometres, with a considerable cumulative climb, this is the queen stage of the French Way by bike. It combines a comfortable first stretch through the Bierzo valley with a demanding final ascent to the sierra of O Cebreiro, the hardest and most celebrated climb on the Spanish stretch of the route.

The departure from Ponferrada leaves behind the Templar castle and the Basílica de la Encina to enter El Bierzo, a region of mild climate and rich winemaking tradition. The route passes through Columbrianos, Fuentes Nuevas and Camponaraya before reaching Cacabelos and, shortly after, Villafranca del Bierzo, a monumental town known as the “little Compostela” for its church of Santiago and its Puerta del Perdón, which once granted the jubilee to pilgrims unable to continue.

From Villafranca, the itinerary climbs up the valley of the river Valcarce, which closes in between the mountains. Through Trabadelo, Vega de Valcarce and Las Herrerías the gradient is still moderate, but from here the true ascent begins: a sustained, steep ramp that within a few kilometres gains several hundred metres of height up to the summit of O Cebreiro, at around 1,300 metres, now in Galician territory.

O Cebreiro is one of the most magical spots on the Way: it preserves pallozas with a circular floor plan and thatched roofs of pre-Roman origin, along with a sanctuary linked to a famous medieval Eucharistic miracle. The stage ends just nearby, descending by road to Pedrafita do Cebreiro, head of the municipality and the close of a day as gruelling as it is unforgettable.