Independent arrival in Spain from your home country. Use public transportation from the airport in Granada to the hotel. Proceed to your room. Possible walk around Granada. Prepare mind and body for the Camino.

Your first pilgrimage stage begins today, which will take you on a flat route mainly through the greater Granada area. Outside the city, the route will take you around the elevation of Sierra Elvira to today’s destination, Pinos Puente. This municipality gained importance in the time of Christopher Columbus, as it was here where the treaty that secured the expedition to the Americas was signed.

Distance: 20 km. (12 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy

Even though today’s stage is quite short, you will have to overcome some elevations. Passing by olive plantations, the steep ascent to the mountain village of Moclín and its medieval castle, which you can see from some distance, takes place behind Los Olivares.

Distance: 14 km. (9 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate/ Challenging

The beginning of today’s stage leads you first downhill and immediately uphill again. After this rather demanding section, you will continue on dirt tracks from the province of Granada to the province of Jaén in a more pleasant way. With slight ascents and descents, you will pass by an olive oil and cheese factory. Shortly before today’s destination, Alcalá la Real, you will already have an impressive view of the fortress Fortaleza de la Mota, which dominates over the roofs of the city.

Distance: 23 km. (14 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate

The route continues steadily downhill through the province of Jaén and through a landscape characterized by olive plantations. After having crossed the San Juan River, you will shortly pass by a stonemason business. From here, a dirt road with almost no shadow leads you in a steady up and down until you reach Alcaudete. The ruins of the castle situated above the town are just as impressive as the Gothic church with its square steeple.

Distance: 24 km. (15 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy/ Moderate

The route continues today past the already-familiar olive plantations from the last few days, with the ruins of the castle behind you. At the lowest point of today’s stage, you will cross the Guadajoz, a river that also serves as a natural border with the province of Córdoba. Constantly ascending, after a few kilometers/miles, you will have a beautiful panoramic view over olive plantations back to Alcaudete. A highlight of the stage is the descent to Laguna del Salobral, a picturesque lake surrounded by olive trees and hills. After your arrival in Baena, it is worth visiting the restored Moorish fort, from which you can enjoy a great view of the white houses of the small town.

Distance: 25.4 km. (15.8 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate

During today’s stage, you will first go up and down past seemingly endless olive plantations until you finally cross the Guadajoz halfway through the stage. After that, the route becomes visibly flatter and, on a little-frequented country road, you will hike near the river, which meanders through the riverbed, to Castro del Río, where the poet Miguel Cervantes began his novel Don Quixote.

Distance: 21 km. (13 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy

In Castro del Río, the road splits in order to reach Córdoba. You take the longer variant via Espejo and Santa Cruz, where you also spend the next night. Initially, you will hike parallel to the Guadajoz and soon reach a hill from where you can see Espejo with the Castillo El Ducal. After having passed the village, you will walk steadily through the well-known olive plantations until you reach today’s destination, Santa Cruz, which you could already see for the first time shortly after Espejo.

Distance: 22.5 km. (14 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy/ Moderate

In the morning, you will leave Santa Cruz and initially start your pilgrimage with an ascent, crossing the Arroyo Jaco River. Soon, you will reach the point where the path you have traveled joins the shorter variant from Castro del Rio. With constant ups and downs, you will reach the first houses of Córdoba, the former metropolis of Moorish Spain, long before the end of your stage. Use the rest of the day to visit the Jewish quarter, the Roman bridge and, of course, the Mosque-Cathedral. Formerly a mosque, a Gothic cathedral was built inside, which may not be very impressive from the outside, but from the inside, with its many columns and decorations, it is well worth seeing.

Distance: 26.5 km (16.5 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate

In the morning, the first kilometers/miles on the Camino Mozárabe will take you out of the urban area of Córdoba until you cross the Arroyo River over an old Roman stone bridge. Flat at first, you will finally reach the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Linares, but here is where the demanding ascent to today’s destination takes place, Cerro Muriano, at the foot of the Sierra Morena.

Distance: 17.8 km. (11.1 mi.) | Difficulty:Moderate with a demanding climb in the last kilometers/ miles

During today’s stage, on flat paths always parallel to the country road, you will initially pass a military area and continue your pilgrimage all the way to Villaharta. Just before reaching the destination, a short detour invites you to visit the hexagonal brick house of the Fuente del Cordel.

Distance: 21.3 km. (13.2 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy

On secluded paths, you will walk alternating partly uphill and downhill through an extremely scenic Mediterranean landscape, characterized by oak and olive trees, and the Guadalbarbo. Somewhat off the route, a taxi (not included in the price, approximately 15 euros each way) will take you from Puerto del Calatraveño to the nice municipality of Alcaracejos, where you will spend the next two nights.

Distance: 18 + 0.8 km. (11.2 + 0.5 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate

You will take a taxi back to Puerto del Calatraveño in the morning (not included in the price, approximately 15 euros each way). The now-flatter route takes you further through the lonely nature to Alcaracejos, where you already spent the last night.

Distance: 0.8 + 17.5 km. (0.5 + 10.9 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy

Sometimes more, sometimes less distant from the country road, you will hike past landscaped fields and meadows, and through the villages of Villanueva del Duque and Fuente la Lancha to the small town of Hinojosa del Duque, the destination of today’s stage.

Distance:21.5 km. (13.4 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy

This long but fairly easy stage takes you most of the way through a remote landscape of fields and pastures, including a river crossing of the Zujar. For the last 9 kilometers/5.6 miles approximately, you will follow the paved country road that takes you from the autonomous region of Andalusia to Extremadura and Monterrubio de la Serena.

Distance: 32.3 km. (20.2 mi.) | Difficulty:Moderate, long stage

You have the option to take a taxi to cover the last kilometers/miles along the country road (not included in the price, approximately 15 euros for the route).

The relatively-short stretch follows a little-used, paved country road through olive groves and pasture areas all the way to the municipality of Castuera and its typical Spanish white houses and red roofs.

Distance: 18.4 km. (11.4 mi.) | Difficulty: An easy, but asphalted road

Also today, fields and pastures are again your constant companions on the lonely stretch of the Camino Mozárabe. In the lovely municipality of Campanario, you will pass by the church, well worth seeing, before you follow the route a bit further out of town to take the train to Don Benito (not included in the price, approximately 3 euros per person/route), where you will spend the next two nights.

Distance: 22.5 + 3 km. (14 + 1.9 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy

The train between Campanario and Don Benito runs three times a day (morning, noon, and evening. This is, however, subject to change). Alternatively, this stretch can be covered by taking a taxi.

By train or taxi, you will initially return to Campanario to continue your pilgrimage on the Way of Saint James. Once again, on mainly flat and rural paths, you will see the municipality of Magacela from afar and its white houses on the slope of a mountain. You have a choice here: the path will take you both up the village and around it. However, we recommend that you take the path into the village to enjoy the magnificent view of the Extremadura landscape. Afterwards, you will continue through the small municipality of La Haba and its beautiful village square until you reach the larger town of Don Benito.

Distance: 3 + 25.9 km. (1.9 + 16.1 mi.) | Difficulty: Moderate

Parallel to the country road, you will initially hike to Medellín, whose medieval castle is enthroned above the village. You will cross the Guadiana over the Roman bridge and shortly after, you will leave the little-frequented country road on an old cattle drive route past olive groves and fields to reach your destination for the day, Santa Amalia.

Distance: 19 km. (11.8 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy

The first kilometers/miles will still take you on remote paths along the Búrdalo. Until just before Torrefresneda, you will cover the rest of the distance on the highway all the way to San Pedro de Mérida.

Distance: 20 km. (12.4 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy, but longer along the highway

The last short stage of the Camino Mozárabe takes you further along the highway. Shortly after Truillanos, you finally turn your back on the highway in order to reach your destination, Mérida, passing fields and farmlands. Use the rest of the day to visit the old Roman city and its many sights.

Distance: 16.6 km. (10.3 mi.) | Difficulty: Easy

Farewell,Mérida; farewell, Camino – and safe travels on your journey back home or to your next adventure! Or, here is another option well-worth considering: to continue onto our next Part 2 of the Via de la Plata, from Mérida to Carcaboso.

¡Buen Camino!