Via de la Plata

by Alison Raju

Published April 2002
A walker's guide to the southern pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. Nearly 1000km long, the Camino mozarabe, or Via de la Plata as it is also known, starts in Seville or Granada and leads north and then north-west along paths and old tracks through the historic towns and varied scenery of Extremadura, Castille and Galicia. Most of it is also suitable for mountain (but not touring) bikes. This is the only published guide to include the Granada-Merida section of the route. As well as giving directions for walking the route (with notes for cyclists in sections where riding it is impracticable) the book provides information on the history of the pilgrimage, places of interest along the way and the availability of practical facilities such as shops, bars, restaurants and accommodation. One appendix provides walking instructions for the continuation from Santiago to Finisterre (75km) whilst others contain a summary of Santiago and other pilgrim references along the way, a list of suggestions for further reading and a glossary of geographical and other useful items.

This comprehensive guidebook covers the 730km Way of St James pilgrim route from Le Puy-en-Velay in central France to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees. As well as giving step by step directions the book also provides information on places to visit along the way, the history of the pilgrimage and details of the facilities such as shops, bars, restaurants and accommodation. An outline of the route along the Cele valley (53km), from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Pamplona, and St Palais to Irun to join the Camino del Norte are also included. A companion volume by the same author, The Way of St James - Spain, continues the route through Spain from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostella (or Finisterre).