Stage 5: Pola de Allande - Berducedo

Stage 5: Pola de Allande - Berducedo 17.4 Kms

A 17.41 km stage that runs entirely through the municipality of Allande.

It is a short but intense route, in which the ascent to the Alto del Palo is avoided, and then, after a sharp initial descent, the route to the town of Berducedo begins in a more relaxed way.

In the eight kilometres between this milestone and Pola de Allande, the ascent to the Palo involves a difference in altitude of some 600 metres. This ascent takes us through a surprising landscape, which allows us to enter a completely natural setting shortly after leaving the capital of Allande, in which the lush vegetation, the watercourses and a path of some 600 metres in altitude are the main features of the landscape, the watercourses and a path flanked at times by splendid enclosing walls made of dry stone (which, on occasions, serve to contain boulders that seem to precipitate over the Way of St. James itself) contribute to the configuration of one of the most beautiful routes of the Asturian Jacobean routes, certainly very different from the landscape of the existing alternative to save the Alto del Palo, the Camino de los Hospitales.

This stage is extremely natural and this is reflected in the road surface itself, the overwhelming majority of which runs along dirt and gravel tracks, with very few (less than three kilometres) of the route running on tarmac or concrete. In terms of cultural heritage, once you leave Pola de Allande behind, the route runs through a purely natural environment, with just a few isolated farmhouses marking out the Way of St. James until you pass the Alto del Palo. After this peak, a gentler route begins, passing through the small villages of Montefurado, Lago and Berducedo, where there are numerous examples of the typical architecture of the area, with solid, compact structures and slate roofs, including elements such as the chapel of Montefurado, or the churches of Lago and Berducedo, flanked in both cases by centenary yew trees.

This intricate stretch of the Jacobean route has had a dense network of points of assistance for pilgrims since medieval times, including the hospitals in Montefurado (of which the chapel is still preserved), Lago and Berducedo.