Camino de Santiago to Finisterre and Muxía

The Camino to Finisterre and Muxía is a peaceful route with no significant elevation changes. You will find very interesting towns, such as Ponte Maceira, listed as one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain. You will pass through picturesque rural villages, pazos, cruceiros, and countless hórreos. Once you reach A Costa da Morte, you will enjoy beautiful landscapes framed by the wildest and most rugged coast. Important towns with maritime traditions, paradisiacal beaches, lighthouses, and steep cliffs from which to watch the most beautiful sunsets in Spain.

In addition, this trip has its own Credential and certificate, the Finisterrana in Finisterre, and the Muxiana in Muxía, which you can add to your pilgrim collection and take home a very special memory of a route that, no matter what, you will never forget.

Its history begins many centuries ago, when the Romans were convinced that the Earth was flat, a kind of solid plate floating on a mysterious and enigmatic ocean, called Mare Tenebrosum. Finisterre, or Finis Terrae, was considered the last place on Earth.

Ancient Origins

However, this Camino was already considered a place of pilgrimage for the Celts, who chose it as an important site for sun worship, the Ara Solis. Here, the sun was seen for the last time every day, marking the beginning of the great mystery, the world of the dead or the island of eternal youth. Therefore, the route was born as a pagan path, unrelated to Christianity.

The Preaching of the Apostle James

However, with the discovery of the remains of the Apostle James and the Christianization of the peninsula, it soon became part of the network of roads frequented by pilgrims heading to Compostela. After the consolidation of the Camino de Santiago in the Middle Ages, more and more pilgrims chose to continue their journey to Finisterre, in search of the supernatural mysticism that surrounded A Costa da Morte. But Christianity is also part of the history of the Camino to Finisterre. It is said that the Apostle himself destroyed the altar of the Ara Solis during his pilgrimage across the peninsula, building in its place the chapel of San Guillermo, which is now gone.

In the Middle Ages

The Calixtine Codex also mentions that the apostle’s remains were moved to Duio, a village near Finisterre, to request the king’s consent to bury them. According to legend, the passing of the Apostle’s disciples through this place was a trap set by Queen Lupa to prevent the saint from being buried in Galicia. Like the other Caminos de Santiago, the Camino to Finisterre experienced significant development in the Middle Ages.

Decline and Revival

However, it also experienced a major decline from the 16th century onward. It wasn’t until the 20th century when local administrations, associations, and regional entities once again brought the Camino to Finisterre to the forefront. They carried out important dissemination and promotion tasks and created their own pilgrimage certificates, such as the Fisterrana and Muxiana, which certify the pilgrim’s completion of the route.