Terrain - what can I expect

[BPS]

Planning my trip from Seville for mid April 2010

I've read a couple of guides but can not figure out the difficulty of the terrain. How much is on new/roman roads, fields, and trails through hills?

I'm considering taking hiking poles but won't bother if most of it is fairly flat (gently sloping) or on roads ( I hate the tap tap sound) - I only need them for heart pounding inclines, steep descents and rivers.

Tks

[geraldkelly]

The terrain really isn't difficult at all, at least as far as Galicia where it becomes more mountainous - but I never walked that bit so I can't help you.

I walked Seville to Astorga. Days 2 to 4 are a bit hilly but after that it's mostly flat all the way. Sometimes extremely flat.

There's a few days which are mostly road, the rest is a mixture of every kind of surface but nothing that'll cause you any difficulties (if you're careful fording streams).

[PabloElFlamenco]

I returned yesterday from the Salamanca to Santiago camino, via de V?a de la Plata and the Camino Sanabr?s (or Mozarabe).
From Salamanca to about two days past Zamora, the camino is flat, long, sometimes roadside along the N630 and, in my particular case, it was hot. Here's where I was all alone, and did upto 33 km in one day. No problem at all. Carry plenty water.
Thereafter the terrain became more diversified. Some up- and downhill stuff, but always a good path. No need for "high" walking shoes, I used alpinist type "approach boots", which were perfect for this type of walk.
Leaving Castilla-Leon (province of Zamora) and entering Galicia (provincia de Ourense) is via a beautiful but strongly uphill "hollow path" which would be a mountain river in case of heavy rain. Difficult for me (I suffered a diabetic low-sugar blubber right in the middle of it and chewing my "strategic reserve" of nuts with dried raisins in the middle of a climb was a bit problematic.
Galicia is more difficult than it would seem: very beautiful, very varied, much greener but plenty of up- and downhill sections, limiting (me) to 20+ km daily walks. The (roadside) climb out of Ourense is a 2 km steep uphill trod, and the climb out of Osseira is a hard rockpath section. Mind you, nothing at all for a true mountaineer, which I'm not.
In general the paths -IN DRY WEATHER- are very good. In case of heavy rain, a lot of that would be, at best, mud and, at worst, a raging river. Not my cup of cake, but it didn't apply in my case...
Very few people in September 2009, I understand the season for the Via de la Plata to be more springtime season.

[Oisin]

I would have to agree about spring being the season to go (ideally) - I went in autumn and Andalucia and Extramadura can get pretty parched after the summer.

[HuskyNerd]

I agree with Pablo about terrain in the Sanabres section. Ger's choice to go through Astorga is common and perhaps wise (check out his great online guide), but if you've already done Camino Frances and are looking for a new experience you'll want to choose the Sanabres route. This, however, puts you into some mountains with the frequent steep climbs Pablo mentions. To avoid these it's usually possible to opt for the highway. But who wants that?

In my opinion, the climbs of the Sanabres route are every bit as hard as climbs in Camino Frances. If you're inclined toward poles you'll want them for several stretches -- heading into Lubian, climbing the pass into Galicia, on the A Gudina option climbing down into Campobecerros, up from Laza to Cruce Madera, and perhaps (though it's on pavement) on the 2 km climb Pablo mentions out of Ourense. You may want to go to www.godesalco.com/plan/plata to see the topography in detail following the Sanabres route. I did the Sanabres route this July without poles and was fine.

Pablo is also right about water in Sanabres. If you choose this option in spring you'll want high top, water-resistant boots as you'll be walking through path/streams some of the time. Dress for cool nights. The altitudes are high and even in July we had cool nights.

[HuskyNerd]

I did the Sanabres route this July without poles and was fine.

....but only because I don't like to use poles while hiking. Those who do, particularly for balance, will appreciate having them along in the Sanabres section of the VdlP. also, dogs are more common and more scary on the VdlP so some carry poles to ward off our barking friends.......

[Arturo815]

Here you have a height profile for the whole route (through Sanabria and Orense). It's the same kind you can get in the Camino Planner at Godesalco.com:



The url (for any eventual change) is: http://www.godesalco.com/img/perfil/pl_perfil_en.png
Cheers

[HuskyNerd]

Arturo!!! Que tal? Como estas, mi amigo? Thanks for including this great graphic and link. It's a joy to think back to the topography after Puebla that we climbed up and down together. :-) Hope all's well with you.

[Arturo815]

Sorry, HuskyNerd, but you must have taken me for the wrong Arturo - I'm afraid we haven't walked together in the Vía de la Plata so far (I walked it in 2001 and 2005, BTW, between Mérida and Santiago, after a failed attempt in 2000 due to heat, solitude and the then terrible 6 km of road crossing the Alcántara reservoir under a fiery sun and heavy traffic).
Anyway, it's my joy to meet such a warm welcome, even if I am not who I was supposed to be!!
Thanks.

[Bobby G]

Hi!

My wife and I recently walked from Gibraltar to La Corunna, including the Via de La Plata. You may find our blog a useful piece of information. Check it out at Walk for William 2010

Good luck and Buen Camino!

[Arturo815]

Can I quote you? I loved this paragraph, I think it summarizes the Camino so well...

Now that we have finally arrived we can think back to Gibraltar and where it all started. Our initial journey in torrential rain along the coast to Tarifa, walking on the beach, the beautiful sand dunes of Bolonia and Barbate, sipping sherry in Jerez, the flooded paths everywhere, joining the Via de la Plata in Seville, coming into contact with other "pilgrims" for the first time, forging close friendships with some of them, climbing the steepest, rockiest, most awful goat-track aptly named "Cuesta del Calvario", writing the blog each day, chatting with villagers about their way of life, "talking" with the animals, washing our clothes in cold water, sleeping in bunk-beds in Albergues, arriving in Salamanca where many of our friends finished their camino, getting to Puebla de Sanabria to collect a new pair of boots, having the odd cold shower, blisters, more blisters, even more blisters, the frustration of lack of telephone or internet connections, the amazing sight of the Puente Quinto, climbing the two highest mountain passes in Galicia in torrential rain, more floods, sleeping in very basic mountain huts, more blisters, dodgy feet, lots and lots of laughter, walking "on top of the world" along mountain crests, getting to know "new" pilgrims, giving and receiving words of encouragement, showing the newcomers how to tend to their blisters, getting lost, having our mobile phones run out of battery or credit or both at crucial moments, the odd row, more blisters, more laughter, arriving in Santiago and its amazing Cathedral, the Pilgrims Mass there and witnessing the swinging of the "Botafumeiro", being told to rest my feet for two or three months, getting ill, both of us getting ill, feeling miserable, getting back on our feet, determined to carry on, more aches and pains, lots more laughter and eventually arriving in Finisterre. WOW!