Stage

Benavente - Alija del Infantado

Granja de Moreruela - Benavente Alija del Infantado - La Bañeza

22 km

In stark difference with previous sections, this one will take you on tar roads and it is very relaxed. Still, you should take some provisions with you as there are few cafeterias and restaurants on the Way.

You leave Benavente from the plaza Mayor through the Calle de los Herreros until the Avenida Cañada de la Vizcaína. You take the road to La Alcubilla and leave it to the right on a gravel road going up a holm oak grove to access Villabrázaro with its church of La Magdalena. The same street takes you to a local road towards Maire de Castroponce, located by the River Órbigo.

If you cross the river, you start a straight stretch towards Alija del Infantado, a pleasant village but without much to see. You can, however, see the Castillo-Palacio, a castle of the Infantado lineage built in the mid-15th century and a symbol of this place. The symmetry in construction and its powerful walls are remarkable. You can visit the Castle for free. You can also visit the churches of San Esteban and San Verísimo and a large number of fountains, Mendaña, Cerral, La Pajarina...

There is a square honouring the Marina (the Navy) as it ranks first amongst inland villages in numbers of seamen enrolling in the Spanish Navy.

Tips from our postmen and women

What to do and see in Alija del Infantado?

Daniel Rebollo Correos La Bañeza

"Alija del Infantado is the first village in the Camino in the province of León. Before you get there, you must indeed visit “Puente de la Vizana” on the Vía de la Plata. This bridge allowed the River Órbigo to be crossed both by pilgrims and mule drivers who used the Cañada Real de la Plata to transport goods from the North to the South of the peninsula.

The bridge is of Roman origin and has been rebuilt several times. You can also visit many wine cellars, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Romanesque chapel of Cristo de la Vera Cruz”.