From Triacastela to Sarria - Viajes Camino de Santiago

Information

In today’s stage we leave Triacastela and head for Sarria.
Sarria
Sarria, one of the most famous towns of the French Way for being the starting point of the famous 100 kilometres. To get there there are two possible routes: The original route through Samos, a stretch with more asphalt that runs along the banks of the river Oribio and visits a famous Benedictine monastery. Or the variant by San Xil, a much more beautiful route that goes through lush forests of oak and chestnut trees.

We leave Triacastela and on our way to Sarria we are presented with two well signposted options: Samos or San Xil? Both options are of great interest, so the decision is yours.

Stage Triacastela – Sarria via San Xil (17.9 km)

After crossing the avenue Camino José Cela we take the detour on the right, which takes us to a local road towards San Xil. After passing A Balsa, along a steep slope we arrive at the Fonte dos Lameiros, with a large shell.

We continue up an asphalted track to San Xil, where we find a vending machine. We continue by road to the vicinity of the top of Riocabo, where we leave the asphalt to enjoy the most beautiful stretch of the stage. Lush forests of chestnut, oak and birch trees escort us down to the small village of Montán.

We continue down to Fontearcuda and cross the road to take a path that avoids the long detour of the road. We cross a river and continue along a path that comes back to the road. The centenary forests give way to green meadows, a landscape that we will see until Furela, where we can regain strength in the bar at the roadside.

We leave behind the village of Furela and enter, at last, the municipality of Sarria. We arrive at Pintín, where there is also a bar and a restaurant. We continue close to the road and we enter a wooded stretch that leads us to the public hostel of Calvor.

After passing Aguiada, Airexe and San Mamede do Camiño we start to see Sarria in the distance. We continue the last stretch through small slides, we pass by a campsite and we arrive at Sarria.

Stage Triacastela – Sarria through Samos (25 km)

At the fork we turn left towards Samos. In this variant we will have to be guided by the arrows, since we will not see cairns. We leave following the road until we reach San Cristovo do Real, where we can see the pazo of Lusío and the Casa Forte. We continue past the village of Renche, walking through a beautiful natural environment on the banks of the river Oribio. We arrive at Lastres and Freituxe, from where we go up to the parish of San Martiño, with a Romanesque church.

At the exit of San Martiño we cross the road through a tunnel and go straight down to Samos, enjoying an impressive panoramic view over the monastery. The spectacular Benedictine monastery of Samos is one of the oldest in Spain. It was founded in the 6th century and has 1500 years of almost uninterrupted monastic life. There are guided tours and you can get your credential stamped.

After the usual visit, we leave Samos by road and arrive at Teiguín, where we cross the road to take a track that goes up by hand. From here the path alternates paths with asphalted tracks and enters the small villages of Gorolfe, Veiga and Sivil. In the latter, we cross the river Sarria over a medieval bridge with a chapel.

We arrive at the concello of Sarria through the village of Perros, where we see a manor house. We cross the road to get to Aguiada, where we connect with the variant by San Xil and we do the last 4 kilometres to Sarria, our end of the stage.

To consider

The stage through San Xil is 6.6 kilometres shorter and crosses one of the most beautiful valleys of the French Way. If we decide to do this stage, it is advisable to leave with enough water and food, as we will not find many services where we can stock up.

On the other hand, the Samos stage is a little longer and goes through spectacular oak and chestnut forests on the banks of the river Oribio. Undoubtedly the most interesting part of the stage is the visit to the Benedictine Monastery of Samos, one of the most impressive monuments in Galicia.

Although it is a difficult decision, whichever path we take, we are sure to get it right.