STARTING POINT: ALICANTE
END POINT: BENAVENTE
DISTANCE: 670 Km
The Southeast Way begins in Alicante and runs through the provinces of Albacete, Cuenca, Toledo, Madrid, Ávila, Valladolid and Zamora, where it converges with the Silver Way to reach Santiago.
In some sections between Albacete and Medina del Campo the route overlaps the Eastern Way of Levante and for several kilometres they run parallel – or almost.
This historical route is described in a document written in the year 1546 by Pedro Juan Villuga, thanks to which it was possible to recover it in 1994.
History
Mediterranean ports have always been very important communication points. Such is the case of the ports of Murcia, Alicante and Valencia, the three starting points of the Southeast Way. As also happens with the Eastern Way of Levante, pilgrims from Italy, Sicily, Corsica and Greece reached the Peninsula by boat, and then embarked on a 670-kilometre journey to join the Silver Way. Once there, there are two options: taking the Way of Sanabria to Santiago, or walking northward to Astorga to join the French Way. Toledo is the most important city that this route runs across, but it should be noted that it also runs through many provinces, each with their rich landscapes: Albacete, Cuenca, Toledo, Madrid, Ávila, Valladolid and Zamora. As mentioned above, it largely overlaps the Eastern Way of Levante.
INFORMATION FOR PILGRIMS
Although in intermediate sections services are scarcer than on the French Way, accommodation can be found in pilgrim hostels or reception points as well as hotels.
It is a flat route but some stages can get hard to do as there are large oscillations in temperature especially in summer and winter.