filipa.figueira21If you’re looking for a different hike with stunning views, that will challenge your senses, then this hike is for you!
On this article I want to share my experience doing “Camino de Hierro” during a weekend getaway in Spain. Moreover, propose other places of interest that you can see around here.
Practical Information – Camino de Hierro, Ruta de túneles y Puentes
- What is Camino de Hierro? Where is located?
- How to arrive? Where to stay?
- How to buy tickets for Camino de Hierro?
- What to take during Camino
- Tips and warnings while doing the path
- Map of the Camino
- What to see and do around Camino de Hierro
What is Camino de Hierro? Where is located?
Located in Salamanca Provence, “Camino de Hierro”, also known as “Linha do Douro”, runs along the final 17 km of the old “La Fuente de San Esteban Barca d’alva” railway line. It was built between 1883 and 1887 to connect Salamanca and Porto.
The camino de Hierro starts in “La Fregeneda” station and ends at “Cais Fluvial de Vega de Terrón”.
The highlight of the path are the 20 tunnels and 10 metallic bridges, some of them made by the school of Eiffel (also a mentor of Seyrig, who was responsible for Luís I bridge in Porto). The biggest tunnel if the first one with 1,540 meters – Tunel 1 – La Carretera. Visitors of the camino will also be surprised by the amazing landscape with the opportunity to see some animals too!
We did Camino de Hierro on the last weekend of January 2025, it we were blesses with an amazing day after a rainy week. The best time to do it it’s in Spring and Autumn.
Many people started doing the “route of tunnels”, even tough it was not very safe. With an increase of visitors, the Municipality of Salamanca decided to invest in the safety of the path and in 2021, the Camino de Hierro was official opened, offering now good conditions for the visitors and promoting the tourism in the region.
- Distance: 17 km
- Duration: 6 hours (aprox.)
- Difficulty: medium
- Recommended season: Spring / Autumn
- Warnings: people with vertigo
- Transport: included
- Emergency number: +34 608 10 17 93 / 112
World Citizen Stories tip: There is an official app of Camino.
Muelle Fluvial de Vega Terrón is the meeting point for visitors reception.
How to arrive? Where to stay?
Estrada nacional 221 por Barca d’Alva (it is really beautiful, since you can see the arribas del Duero)
We stayed in Ahigal de los Aceiteros.
How to buy the tickets for Camino de Hierro?
On the official website – Camino de Hierro, Ruta de túneles y Puentes, after creating an account, you can buy the tickets. An adult ticket is 8€ and the special ticket is 7€ (children, students, retired people). All the tickets include insurance (civil liability and accident insurance), vest and flashlight to use along the way, as well as, transport from Muelle Fluvial de Vega Terrón to La Fregeneda station. Bear in mind, that is not possible to cancel or refund your ticket. It is only possible to change the date of entrance.
After purchasing the tickets you will receive an email with a PDF with your information and the time that you should arrive. Bring the same document you used to buy the ticket.
Regarding the time to start the Camino, there are some restrictions. On Autumn and Winter (October 15th – March 31st), the ticket office opens at 9 am and 4:30 pm is the final time to finish the hike. On Spring and Summer (April 1st – October 14th) the ticket office opens at 7:30h and 3 pm is the final time to finish the hike.
World Citizen Stories tip: Buy your ticket in advance and bear in mind that if you need to make a change to another date you can only do it 5 days before the hike.
Tips and warnings while doing the path
When you arrive to the meeting point, a reflective vest, a small flashlight and a map will be given to you. After this, there will be a briefing explaining some important information about the hike.
- bring water for the all hike (there is no place to fill your bottle)
- Use hiking boots or shoes (there are my stones along the way)
- make sure your respect the schedule of the camino
- it is mandatory to have your reflective vest and flashlight with you
- Respect the environment of the natural park
- Don’t throw garbage
- Dogs are not allowed
What to see and do around Camino de Hierro
See a model of Camino de Hierro with 32 m in “La Fregeneda”
The local school of Fregeneda portrays a 32m model of Camino de Hierro. It is an authentic masterpiece, with a dynamic train going along the railways and showcasing all the bridges and tunnels!
To end a perfect day, visit “Mirador de Mafeito” at the end of the day, to see the sunset. This viewpoint, has an amazing view for “Arribes del Duero” and it is located 5km from “La Fregeneda”.
Lumbrales
It’s in Lumbrales that is located the “Casa del Conde”
Other places you can visit are Ledesma, Lumbrales,
San Felices de los Gallegos
Considered one of the most beautiful villages of Castilla y León it has belonged to Portugal and Spain in some periods of time.
We did a guided tour in San Felices de los Gallegos with Daniel from the Tourism office. The guided tour started in the tourism office (confirmar), where we started to dive in the village history, followed by a visit to the church X and the Y.
- Olive oil museum
- Castle of San Felices de los Gallegos
- Cantaria Museum
The Olive oil museum, “Lagar del Mudo”, explains the process of olive oil production, from the courtyard, where the olives were deposited in the “lagartas”, through the pressing and extraction in the mill, to its conversation in pitchers. I really enjoyed visiting this museum, specially to see the old way of production of olive oil, which these days, is not manual anymore.
Castle of San Felices de los Gallegos
Great view of the village, interactive, history of Portugal and Spain connected.
Cantaria Museum
The granite is the protagonist of the museum. Here we can see where it is used along the main historical buildings of the village.
I would like to thank everyone that went to Spain for a weekend to do Camino de Hierro, spend time in nature and connect with each other and explore the surrounding areas. A special thanks to Javier for all the recommendations! I am an advocate of the Rural tourism and Slow Travel.
Note: All the text was written by me and I also took all the pictures (they were not edited).
Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it and that you learned something new! That’s my goal!
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