Las Herrerías

Stage 27 · Villafranca del Bierzo – O CebreiroLeon Province
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What is there in Las Herrerías

Las Herrerías is a village in the municipality of Vega de Valcarce, in the El Bierzo district, in Leon Province, on the Camino Frances.

Its name comes from the ironworks that worked the local iron here (there were as many as four), and a complex with its mill still survives beside the Valcarce. You enter over a 15th-century bridge, and one of its quarters is called Hospital because an old hospital for English pilgrims stood there, a reminder of how international this route has always been. With about forty people and at 675 metres, it is the last village in the valley before the great climb: from here the Camino leaves the tarmac and scrambles up a steep path through chestnut trees to La Faba, La Laguna and O Cebreiro, gaining about six hundred metres in height. There are bars and a hostel to build up your strength, and in season you can even ride up on horseback.

Accommodation in Las Herrerías

Hostel Casa Lixa Las HerreríasHostelHostel Casa Lixa Las Herrerías

Distances from Las Herrerías

From Las Herrerías to La Faba it is about 3.2 km.

To La Laguna it is about 5.2 km.

And to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in Santiago de Compostela, about 162.6 km remain.

Las Herrerías on the Camino

Las Herrerías, a hamlet of Vega de Valcarce, is the last village in the valley before the great climb. It has hostels and rural houses, and here the Camino leaves the road to start climbing on tracks and paths.

From here you can ride up to O Cebreiro on horseback, a service offered by local businesses for the steepest stretch.

What to see in Las Herrerías?

Church
Iglesia de San Julian Las Herrerias Camino de Santiago Frances 5 768x403

Church of Saint Julian Las Herrerías

Church of Saint Julian in Las Herrerías Located in the small and picturesque village of Las Herrerías, in the El

History

The name, «the forges», recalls the ironworks that used the water of the Valcarce to work iron, an activity documented in the area for centuries.

In the Middle Ages there was a hospital here for English pilgrims, mentioned in 12th-century documents, and the Hospital quarter keeps its memory.

Architecture

The houses are of stone and slate, with wooden balconies, lined up along the road and the river.

The stone bridge over the Valcarce is the best-known image of the village.

Before the climb

From Las Herrerías the climb begins to La Faba, La Laguna and O Cebreiro: about 8 km with a steep gradient, up to 1,300 metres.

The landscape

Oaks, chestnuts, birches and ferns cover the slopes, and otters and riverside birds live in the river.

In autumn the forest fills with colour.

In short

Las Herrerías is the gateway to the mountains: a village of blacksmiths and English pilgrims where the climb into Galicia begins.

Camino de Santiago Frances
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