After our first stop in the Bierzo in Las Meludas and Ponferrada, we continue the road trip not far from there in the small village of Peñalba de Santiago and the pretty city of Astorga. The province of León is probably not the most known of Spain and we will admit that many landscapes were a real surprise for us! We tell you more?
Peñalba de Santiago: one of the most beautiful villages in Spain
It was at Anceu coliving that we heard about Peñalba de Santiago for the very first time… Angela, the neighbor of the coliving, lives part of the year in Galicia and the other part in Peñalba de Santiago. For several months she spoke to us about “her beautiful village in the mountains” and Agustin, the manager of the coliving and Spanish of origin, confided to us that he had never been to see her there but that this village was indeed one of the most beautiful in Spain according to the rumors…
Peñalba de Santiago has gained in popularity in recent years, since it officially joined the association of the “most beautiful villages of Spain” (an association that operates on the same model as its French counterpart).
This tiny village is perched at an altitude of 1100m, some 25 kilometers from Ponferrada (it takes 40 minutes to drive from the village to the first supermarket!!!). Its population? Between 14 and 21 inhabitants (it depends on the sources we consult haha)
In short, you can imagine, if the village is known it is not especially for its dynamism and its wild parties 😉 No! Peñalba de Santiago is known for 2 things:
- The absolutely exceptional location at the bottom of the magnificent Silent Valley and the view on the mountains
- the state of conservation of the houses: here all the houses are built in stone with wooden balconies and slate roofs. It’s simply a magical place!
Coming to Peñalba de Santiago and where to stay?
When we started to inquire about coming to the village there was one thing that caught my eye… The online reviews about the access! Everyone was unanimous, the village is worth it but on the other hand the road seemed to have given cold sweats to more than one.
Initially, the access to Peñalba was made only by taking the tortuous road which goes up the valley of silence. Reputedly splendid, this road is also VERY narrow (impossible to cross in many places) and especially very exposed to floods and landslides.
Recently, due to the renewed popularity of the town, a second road has been built (it already existed before, but it has just been paved, which makes access much easier). This road descends (steeply) from the point known as Alto de Cruz, following a series of switchbacks.
With our van, we preferred to play it safe and take this second option (we put you a map below where you have the 2 options).
Recently, the municipality has also built 3 large parking lots at the entrance of the village. It is not allowed to go by car in the center unless you are a resident (but honestly, when you see how narrow the streets are, I swear you would not want to go there).
For our part, we even took advantage of one of the parking lots to spend the night the day before our visit.
If you don’t have a van and want to spend the night here, there are currently 2 tourist accommodations in the village: Casa Turpesa (about 100€ per night, 3 persons) and the casa Mozarabe (about 200€ per night, 6 persons).
At the moment there are no buses to get to Peñalba de Santiago. If you are not motorized, you can see to rent a car by comparing the rates on Rentalcars.
Note that, as is often the case, the larger the rental city, the lower the rates.
If you prefer to rent a van for your stay, we advise you as usual to have a look at Yescapa. If you want more information about van rental and the different rental options in Europe (from private person to private person or via professionals), we invite you to read our special article on van rental.
Hiking around Peñalba de Santiago
Who says getaway in the mountains says hiking 😉 Well, for once, we didn’t go on a big tour, but rather a nice little walk to do in half a day.
Hike to the San Genadio cave
The “classic” walk in Peñalba consists of going to the cave of San Genadio. The walk is barely 2 km long and has no difficulty whatsoever. From the village, there are signs indicating the direction, but you will see that it is not very complicated.
We begin by going down in the valley of the silence until we reach the arroyo del Aro (a river that joins the one of the silencio to form the Rio Oza that then goes down the valley until Ponferrada). From the first small bridge, the trail goes up quite gently in the direction of the Arroyo del Silencio. Shortly after the second river crossing, we come to an intersection where we must turn right to reach the San Genadio cave.
After 2 km, we reach the San Genadio cave. It is named after a former bishop of the diocese of Astorga who contributed greatly to the repopulation of the Bierzo region by founding numerous monasteries around the year 900. The bishop is said to have made spiritual retreats in this cave that overlooks the Valley of Silence.
Moreover, according to some rumors, the valley would bear this name thanks to or “because” of this saint. It is said that at one time there was a big river flowing in this place. The noise of the water prevented the saint from meditating properly. Exasperated by the noise he shouted in the valley “Silence”! At that moment, the water would have withdrawn from in front of the cave to emerge only further down the valley 😉
The cave itself is nothing special, but the view is very nice!
The silence waterfall (cascada del Silencio)
From the cave, we then decided to continue the ascent a bit to reach the waterfall del Silencio. There is only 800m of distance and something like 150m of additional climb, so it would be a pity not to do the small detour. The path passes mostly through the forest and the climb is really pleasant, without any difficulty.
The waterfall itself is not the Niagara Falls (we won’t lie to you) but it is still a very nice place! Ideal for a picnic break in the fresh air or to soak your feet 😉
Getting back to Peñalba de Santiago
For the return to the village there are 2 options starting from the waterfall:
- the short option: retrace your steps to an earlier crossing and turn right to return to the village
- cross under the waterfall and continue the climb to return to the village by the other valley
The second option seemed more scenic, but for once, we were not particularly motivated by the idea of continuing to climb (let’s be honest). In short, we opted for the shorter variant. Nevertheless, if you want to extend the walk, you will have no trouble seeing the route on the map below.
Map and information about the hike in Peñalba de Santiago
Our walk in Peñalba was 7km with something like 360m of elevation gain. In total, the hike took us 2h30-3h (with many photo breaks).
The mountain road between Bierzo and Astorga
After this little break in Peñalba de Santiago, we decided to take the road again and have a look at Astorga. From the village, the most logical route would have been to go back down to Ponferrada and then take the highway…
Hmm… how to explain you that when we arrived the day before at the alto de Cruz and we saw the road that continued in direction of the mountains we were strongly tempted to keep going! 😉 It’s not every day that we can take a big road that passes passes at more than 2000m.
So is this the fastest way? No, clearly not! Count 30 to 40 minutes of additional driving… But is it worth it? Yes definitely!!! Judge for yourself:
Short visit to Astorga and its episcopal palace
Just after leaving the Ponferrada area, we made one last stop in the city of Astorga. Known for being the place where the via de la Plata joins the Camino Frances (two famous routes of the Way of Saint James), Astorga is also famous for 2 monuments with absolutely exceptional architecture and a history that goes back more than 2 millennia!
Unfortunately we arrived too late, but you should know that every day (except Wednesday) there is a free tour at 11am. The tour is in Spanish only and lasts 1h15. It allows you to walk around the historical center of Astorga and to learn more about the history of the city. The tour is free and is based on tips. If you speak Spanish and you are there at the right time, we definitely recommend you to take this free tour!
The Episcopal Palace of Gaudi
Designed by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, the episcopal palace of Astorga seems to be straight out of a storybook! In fact it’s funny because the contrast between the interior and exterior of the palace is striking… From the outside it looks like a neo-gothic castle, while inside you have the feeling that you have arrived in a church.
The Episcopal Palace of Astorga is one of the few works of Gaudi to be located outside Catalonia (there are others, but few of this scale!).
Nowadays, the palace is also known for housing a museum dedicated to the famous pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Through the rooms you can discover the eccentric architecture of Gaudi while learning more about the famous pilgrimage route (many panels explain the history of the caminos, the different routes, etc.). All in all, it takes about 1h30 for the visit, the entrance costs 6€ (5€ if you are a pilgrim ;)) Honestly, this visit is really worth it if you are in the area!!!
Santa Maria Cathedral
Located right in front of the Episcopal Palace, the Santa Maria Cathedral dating from the 15th century will not fail to catch your attention! Built in a mixture of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance styles, it surprises at first sight. Indeed, we notice quite quickly that the two towers have not the same color at all!
This small particularity comes from the fact that one of the towers collapsed following an earthquake in the 18th century. Rebuilt since then, it has kept a slightly different color from its neighbor 😉
It is possible to visit it, but be aware that the visit is not free. The entrance fee is 6€ and includes an audio guide. It takes about 50 minutes for the tour.
After our visit of the episcopal palace we decided to continue our trip in direction of the mountains which are in the north of the region and thus decided to skip the interior. We simply lingered a few moments in front of the impressive porch which is decorated with numerous vegetable and religious elements.
After this quick stop in Astorga, we headed to the north of Castilla y León, a more mountainous and wild area where we planned to visit caves, waterfalls, lakes and the southern part of the Picos de Europa… You can actually find the post about our adventures in the northern part of the León province here. Cheers!
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