Mountains, Crowds and Coming to the End of the Camino : Reflecting on León to Santiago

Reflecting on the Camino Francés from León to Santiago

“Life is a long pilgrimage from fear to love.”

Paulo Coelho

Leaving León did not feel like beginning the final section of the Camino Francés. We were still learning what our first long-distance pilgrimage required from us; Santiago remained more than 300 kilometres away, and several of the route's hardest climbs lay ahead. Yet we could feel the journey changing and the end approaching. The Meseta gradually gave way to the Montes de León and Bierzo, the route climbed into Galicia, and after Sarria the pilgrim community around us became almost unrecognizable.

This section contained places whose names we had repeated while planning without really knowing what they would mean: Astorga, Cruz de Ferro, O Cebreiro, Sarria and finally Santiago de Compostela itself. It also contained long urban stretches, road walking, steep rocky descents, crowded cafes and nights when finding rest mattered more than seeing another monument. As first-time pilgrims, we were discovering that approaching Santiago did not make the Camino simpler. In many ways, it made every remaining day feel both more complicated and more precious.

Leaving León and Finding the Camino Again

The route out of León required patience. Streets, suburbs and roads led us away from the cathedral before the landscape began to open up and we were back in nature. Waymarking in the city and surrounding neighbourhoods felt less obvious in places, and we followed roadside markers until reaching smaller towns beyond the main city.

We chose the route through Villar de Mazarife because it offered more separation from the road. Casa Jesús, with its eclectic rooms and walls covered in pilgrims' words, restored something of the intimate Camino atmosphere that the large city had interrupted. Reading the messages around our beds reminded us that thousands of people had passed through the same uncertainty and fatigue.

From there, the route moved through Hospital de Órbigo and began to rise toward Astorga. The flat horizon gradually broke into hills, while vineyards and changing vegetation signalled that our time in the Meseta was ending. Astorga's cathedral, Roman history, and several familiar faces in the albergue  - in addition to the blazing heat - made it a natural place to stop for the night, although even there our most immediate concerns remained food, laundry and sleep.

Into the Montes de León

Beyond Astorga, the Camino climbed toward Rabanal del Camino through a landscape of heather, lavender, forest and increasingly open mountain views. The air and vegetation felt different from the plateau. The route was still hot and dusty during our walk, but the return of hills gave each stage a different feel.

Rabanal had a strong pilgrim character and marked the approach to Cruz de Ferro. We had arranged to meet friends for the climb, and reaching the site felt significant – even long before we reached the summit. Pilgrims have long carried stones to the iron cross as symbols of burdens, memories or intentions they wish to set down. The site itself was peaceful despite the steady arrival of walkers. We placed our stone and took time to reflect, aware that no photograph could explain what the gesture meant to each person standing there. It surprises me to admit, but it was certainly was one of the moments when the physical walk along Camino and the inward pilgrimage became difficult to separate.

The Descent from Cruz de Ferro

Unfortunately, reaching Cruz de Ferro was neither the end of the stage nor the end of the day’s difficulties. The descent toward Molinaseca followed steep shale and stone that demanded concentration with every step. In wet weather, it would have been considerably harder. Given the nature of the trail, many pilgrims opted to walk along the nearby road when the path became too uncomfortable.  This section illustrates why elevation profiles deserve to be read in both directions. Climbs receive attention because they are physically demanding, but long descents can be harder on knees, feet and balance. A pilgrim who reaches the high point already exhausted still has to get safely down the other side.

Molinaseca appeared at the end of that descent with its beautiful bridge, narrow streets and river. The town was beautiful and clearly accustomed to pilgrims, offering a place to recover before continuing through Ponferrada and the vineyards of Bierzo.  Here, through conversations with albergue owners, we were introduced to issues related to many of the political and economic realities of the Camino which impact upon how far pilgrims have to trek and how many stamps they are required to have – that we had assumed were largely shaped by history and tradition.  Needless to say, it was an eye-opening evening that gave us new perspectives on the Way.

Bierzo and the Approach to Galicia

Between Molinaseca and Cacabelos, the Camino crossed Ponferrada and passed its imposing castle before returning to vineyards and smaller communities. The stages through Bierzo combined urban walking with agricultural tracks and gave us time to recover from the mountains before the next major climb into Galicia.

From Cacabelos to Herrerías, our day stretched beyond 30 kilometres. The distance was significant – not only because it placed us at the foot of the climb toward O Cebreiro but because it served as a reminder that the length of one day can shape the next stage.   From Herrerias, the Camino climbed along forested pathways up to O Cebreiro – a town of low-set traditional stone buildings.

Galicia and the Final Stages of Camino

Galicia brought greener hills, wooded lanes, stone villages and more frequent changes in elevation. Here the route followed forested paths that felt very different from the exposed stretches of the Meseta. And almost for the first time since the Pyrenees, the realities of regular elevation gains and losses added effort to our stages – bodies used to flatter terrain once again had to adapt.

From the high country, we continued through Biduedo and Triacastela toward Sarria. While churches, small settlements, and albergues appeared at closer and closer intervals, the realities of pilgrimage as a modern business also increasingly revealed themselves. 

The final section of the Camino in many ways truly begins in Sarria, which is one of the busiest stretches of the Way – the final 100 km. For walkers arriving from Saint Jean Pied de Port, the transition and numbers of new hikers can be shocking.

What Changes at Sarria

Sarria transformed the social atmosphere of the Camino. At present, pilgrims need to walk at least the final 100 kilometres to qualify for the Compostela, and many people – for a variety of reasons - therefore begin here. As a result, the path became much busier, tour groups appeared, and baggage transfers, taxis and support services became increasingly visible.  For those who had walked from Saint Jean Pied de Port or farther away, the change could easily feel intrusive. We were tired, emotionally preparing for the end and accustomed to recognizing many of the people around us.  All of this changed in Sarria.

The new arrivals were energetic, clean and excited to begin. Their conversations sounded much like ours must have sounded weeks earlier.  Although we recognized much of this, our thoughts about the changes were not always graceful about the situation.  After walking for weeks, it was easy to become protective of the Camino we had come to know and fall back on poorly defined notions about who counted as a real pilgrim. Yet everyone we met had circumstances we could not see. Time, health, finances, family responsibilities and physical ability all shaped where a pilgrimage could begin. We had walked farther, but that did not give us ownership of the path.

The practical change was undeniable. Cafes, albergues and paths were now overwhelmingly crowded. Accommodation felt more commercial and more likely to resemble a modern hostel or hotel. Tour buses met groups at road crossings, taxis circulated and luggage appeared without the people who had carried it. Coming to terms with these new situations was one of the final challenges on the Camino that we truly struggled with.

The Final One Hundred Kilometres

From Sarria, the Camino descended toward Portomarín. We crossed the 100-kilometre marker and followed a historic route before climbing the stairs into town. Portomarín's position above the reservoir and its reconstructed church made it one of the most distinctive stops in the final stretch.

The stages through Palas de Rei, Ribadiso and O Pedrouzo generally ranged between 22 and 26 kilometres for us, and the Camino began to increasingly pass through eucalyptus forests. Throughout Galicia, the Camino markers counted down the remaining distance to the decimal point - although their numbers sometimes raised as many questions as they answered.  Each one we passed reminded us both of how far we had walked as well as how little remained ahead.  Conversations increasingly concerned arrival plans, the pilgrim mass, accommodations in Santiago and what everyone would do after reaching the cathedral.

Throughout this stretch, the growing number of beds was matched by the growing number of pilgrims, and places at times could feel full or impersonal. In O Pedrouzo, our private room was far removed from the communal dormitories of the first week. By then, however, uninterrupted sleep and space to prepare for the final day were welcome.

Walking into Santiago

On our final day we left O Pedrouzo in darkness well before sunrise, moving first through eucalyptus forest and then past Lavacolla, the airport and the suburban neighbourhoods around Santiago. The final day's route was not continuously beautiful as it was filled with roads, industry, and suburbs which occupied many kilometres, but our excitement at arriving made many of these details secondary to the day.

Given our excitement and our hope of attending the pilgrim’s mass, we trekked much of the final stretch at high speed, reaching Monte do Gozo just after sunrise. Monte do Gozo is traditionally the place where pilgrims first see Santiago. From there, we descended toward the city following other walkers, crosses and signs into the historic centre. We were trying to reach our accommodation, leave our packs and arrive at the cathedral in time for the pilgrim mass.  The first sight of the cathedral plaza brought excitement, relief and disbelief. After weeks of measuring each day in kilometres and being focused on this goal, the route had ended.

The pilgrim mass gathered many of those emotions into one place. We recognized people from France, Canada, the United States, Australia and elsewhere, including pilgrims whose paths had crossed ours repeatedly since the beginning.  

Yet despite having arrived, practical tasks remained – we needed to present our credentials at the pilgrim office, and friends were arriving at different times that we hoped to meet back up with.

Staying in Santiago

We were glad that we had allowed a full day in Santiago rather than leaving immediately after arriving. The extra time gave us a chance to welcome friends into the plaza, visit the Museum of Pilgrimage and Santiago, explore the cathedral and take the rooftop tour.

With that said, arriving in Santiago did not provide a single clear conclusion. Some pilgrims celebrated, some became emotional, and others immediately began arranging transportation home or continued onward to Finisterre. Friendships built through repeated meetings along the route began to dissolve as everyone moved toward what came next. That mixture of completion and separation – one comes to see - is part of the arrival. Santiago supplies a geographical ending and gives pilgrims their certificate, but reflection and understanding take longer. The body stops walking before the mind fully understands that the hike has ended.

What We Would Tell Those Coming Next

By Santiago, we understood that – if we could do it all over again – that we would try to prepare ourselves better for the change at Sarria without allowing our irritation to define the final days. The route felt different, and at times we responded as though the Camino we had known was being taken away from us. Coming to fully realize that everyone hikes their own hike and remembering how uncertain and excited we had been in Saint Jean Pied de Port helped us see the new arrivals more generously.

Finally, we were grateful that we had preserved time in Santiago. We needed more than the rushed moments between entering the plaza and attending the pilgrim mass to understand that we had finished. Staying allowed us to see others arrive, explore the pilgrimage history of the city and begin the difficult process of saying goodbye.

Between León and Santiago, the Camino Francés moved from open farmland into mountains, vineyards and the green lanes of Galicia. It passed through moments of reflection and stretches shaped by crowds and commerce. By the time we entered the cathedral plaza, the route had become inseparable from the people, difficulties and ordinary routines that carried us there.

See you on the Trail!