La Laguna de Castilla

La Laguna de Castilla is a small hamlet in the province of León, situated on the high ridge just below the pass of O Cebreiro on the Camino Frances. The name refers to a mountain lake or marshy pool, laguna, that once characterised the wet, boggy terrain of this exposed ridge.

The settlement occupies bleak, windswept moorland at high altitude, the vegetation low and sparse, the sky wide and changeable. The name Castilla in the toponym reflects the administrative border position, the hamlet marking the final territory of the old Castilian kingdom before the route enters Galicia.

For pilgrims, La Laguna de Castilla is the penultimate point before the emotional crossing into Galicia at O Cebreiro, the exposed moorland giving the final Leonese steps a stark, elemental quality.