About the Via de la Plata Camino Pilgrimage

Via de la Plata Information

Camino Pilgrimage in the Modern World

The Via de la Plata, together with the Camino Sanabrés, is one of the longest and most challenging routes of the Camino de Santiago. Beginning in Seville, it stretches more than a thousand kilometres north through Andalucía, Extremadura, and Castile y León, where pilgrims can either veer west onto the Camino Sanabrés or continue north to join the Camino Francés.

The route traces the course of an ancient Roman road that once linked Mérida (Emerita Augusta) with Astorga (Asturica Augusta). Over the centuries, it was used by Visigoths, Arabs, and Spaniards, and in the Middle Ages by Mozarabic Christians making their way to Santiago de Compostela during the Muslim domination of Spain. Today, most modern pilgrims set out from Seville, passing through a series of remarkable cities including Zafra, Mérida, Cáceres, Salamanca, and Zamora.

Walking the Via de la Plata means covering long distances between small towns, often across exposed landscapes where shade is scarce and the extremes of weather are felt keenly. Only about three percent of pilgrims who arrive in Santiago have walked this route, according to the Pilgrim’s Office, which means fewer crowds, but also fewer amenities, and a very different kind of Camino experience. For this reason, the route is not generally recommended for first-time pilgrims, though it rewards those who take it on with a sense of solitude, resilience, and authenticity.

Route Waymarking 

Like other Caminos, the way is well marked with yellow arrows and scallop shells, though each region also adds its own distinctive variations of pilgrim markers. The route is sometimes called the Silver Way, based on the belief that de Plata means silver. Yet the name may have less glittering origins, possibly derived from the Latin lapidata (uneven stone road) or the Arabic al-balat (paved road). Either way, there is little actual connection to silver itself.

As with all Camino routes, pilgrims on the Via de la Plata need to carry a Credential, or pilgrim passport, which allows access to albergues along the way and serves as proof of the journey when applying for the Compostela in Santiago.

For us, standing at its beginning in Seville brought a quiet awareness of what potentially lay ahead: long days in nature, stretches of silence broken only by birdsong or the crunch of gravel underfoot, and the knowledge that few others choose to walk this way. It felt at once daunting and liberating.  Unlike the Camino Frances, stepping onto the VDLP feels less like joining a crowd of pilgrims and more like stepping into an ancient rhythm of travel, testing endurance and faith in equal measure.

See you on the Way!