The Camino de Madrid Handbook

Book excerpt: A much-needed reference and guidebook for the Camino de Madrid. --- BASIC FACTS: 1. The Camino de Madrid starts at the Church of Santiago y San Juan Bautista in Madrid and ends in Sahagún. 2. It is officially 320 kilometres long, depending on the detours you make and number of times you get lost (or 676 kilometres if you continue to Santiago de Compostela). 3. It is usually walked in 13 stages, the ones proposed in this handbook. 4. It passes through four provinces (Madrid, Segovia, Valladolid and León); one that you will cross completely, south to north (Valladolid). 5. It passes over the highest point on any of the Caminos in Spain: the Fuenfría Mountain Pass at 1,796 metres. 6. It passes by five castles that are not in ruins (Manzanares el Real, Segovia, Coca, Simancas and Grajal de Campos). I like castles. 7. It passes by some of the finest examples of Mudéjar (Muslim artists and architects working for Christians in the Middle-Ages) architecture in Spain. 8. There are fully equipped pilgrim albergues that are open throughout the year. 9. It is well marked, with enough Camino signage to get you safely to Sahagún. 10. An estimated 2,000 pilgrims walked the Camino de Madrid in 2019. --- USING THIS HANDBOOK: This handbook is divided into 13 chapters, each chapter number corresponding to the suggested stage. There is also an introductory chapter describing Madrid and a final chapter describing Sahagún. The Numbered-Stage Chapters are organised as follows: 1) A map of the stage presenting the route and towns. Distances between towns are shown. 2) A topographic profile describing the elevation gains and losses on the stage. 3) A general description of the stage, the trail, the towns and highlights.4 ) A section describing route alternatives and options. 5) A section describing tricky and/or problematic sections. 6) A section describing the different places you will walk through such as their pilgrim services, monuments and other curiosities. 7) A final section providing information about the available pilgrim albergues for that stage.8)Each stage also includes a descriptive photo of the stage and, when necessary, a schematic town map. Buen Camino!