Camino Sanabrés: Stages, Map and Where to Start

The Camino Sanabrés begins in Granja de Moreruela, heading for Ourense. You leave the village on dirt tracks, with a gentle climb and a descent to the Esla River, which you cross on the Quintos bridge; right after it comes a stretch of steep, rugged path, the only difficulty of the day. Then come a hilltop with good views and tracks through farmland and Mediterranean woodland to Faramontanos, with its 13th-century church of San Martín, and five more kilometers to Tábara. There, the church of Santa María, famous for the Tábara Beatus manuscript, is well worth a visit.

A short, gentle stage through holm oak woods. Before you set off, visit the church of Santa María in Tábara, whose scriptorium copied the Beatus manuscripts, 9th-century codices recognized by UNESCO. You leave Tábara past the church of San Salvador and choose between two variants: the official one via Bercianos de Valverde, the prettier of the two, among vineyards and chestnut trees, or the one via Villanueva de las Peras, slightly longer and with a bar. Along the way you’ll see curious wine cellars dug into the clay. The two variants meet in Santa Croya de Tera, which has a natural swimming pool, and Santa Marta de Tera awaits you with the oldest statue of Santiago Peregrino (St. James the Pilgrim).

A very long but gentle day, which you can split into shorter sections: almost always parallel to the Tera River, through riverside woods and poplar groves, on dirt tracks with frequent ups and downs. You pass through Calzadilla de Tera and Olleros and cross the dam of the Agavanzal reservoir, with its shrine. Then come the pine and oak woods of Villar de Farfón and the descent to the Río Negro and Rionegro del Puente, nine kilometers from the end. Mombuey, the main town of La Carballeda, welcomes you with the 13th-century Templar tower of its church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, next to the Iron Age hillfort of El Buracote.

From here the landscape changes noticeably and becomes more wooded and mountainous, with frequent ups and downs. You leave Mombuey on a tree-lined path through La Carballeda and, following the line of the N-525 road and the highway, pass through one charming village after another: Valdemerilla, Cernadilla and its Baroque church, Palanzuelo, Entrepeñas and Asturianos. Palacios de Sanabria, Remesal and Triufé bring you close to the end. You cross the Tera River and climb to the old quarter of Puebla de Sanabria, crowned by the castle of the Counts of Benavente: take your time wandering its streets before a well-earned rest, now in the heart of the Sanabria area.

A long stage defined by the climb to the Alto de Padornelo, at 1,365 meters, and the descent that follows. You leave Puebla de Sanabria skirting its old quarter, cross the Castro River and drop down to walk beside the water. You pass through Terroso and its church of Santiago and enter a beautiful stretch of forest as far as Requejo and Padornelo. In Lubián, already in the Alta Sanabria, you say goodbye to Castilla y León: a border village of barely three hundred inhabitants, where Galician is still spoken, with the sanctuary of La Tuiza, a listed Site of Cultural Interest, the hillfort of As Muradellas and the Cortello dos Lobos, an old wolf trap.

A border stage, rural and mountainous, and pleasant despite the climb. You leave Lubián on a lovely old paved road to the sanctuary of La Tuiza and, from there, climb on a gentle gradient to the A Canda pass, at 1,265 meters: the natural barrier that marks the entry into Galicia, 17 kilometers before A Gudiña. After that it’s all downhill on dirt paths, with the Pereira River alongside, the chapel of Nuestra Señora de Loreto and the hamlets of O Pereiro and O Cañizo. There are few services along the way: leave Lubián with everything you need.

One of the most beautiful stages of the route, long and solitary, with much of it above 1,000 meters. You say goodbye to A Gudiña and its Romanesque chapel of San Martiño and take the Laza variant, which cuts 30 kilometers off the journey; cyclists must carry on here via the Verín variant, which makes the route longer. You walk over the Serra Seca with the As Portas reservoir in view, pass Campobecerros and Portocamba and reach the Cruz do Peregrino (Pilgrim’s Cross). Then come rolling hills with the valley at your feet and a long descent to Laza, home of the Entroido, the oldest carnival in Galicia.

A long mountain day. You leave Laza, with its church of San Juan, through Soutelo Verde and Tamicelas, and take on a steady climb of more than 400 meters to the cross at the Alto do Talariño, at 965 meters, passing through A Alberguería. Then the terrain opens out onto the farming plain of Vilar de Barrio and Bobadela, before the descent to Xunqueira de Ambía. The village rewards the effort with its stone-built center and narrow lanes, the collegiate church of Santa María la Real with its Plateresque cloister, and the river beach on the Arnoia for tired legs.

A very easy stage, short and almost flat, much of it beside the OU-102 road and through small rural villages. You say goodbye to Xunqueira de Ambía through its historic stone center, past its collegiate church. The final stretch, as is usual on the way into big cities, crosses housing developments and industrial units. The reward is Ourense, the city of hot springs on the Miño, split by the river and stitched together by bridges: the cathedral of San Martín, with its Pórtico do Paraíso, a tribute to the Pórtico de la Gloria in Santiago; the Ponte Romana (Roman Bridge), a lively historic center with good food, and a soak in the hot springs of As Burgas or A Chavasqueira.

A short stage with a choice built in: on the way out of Ourense there are two options, via Tamallancos or via Canedo, much alike, with several short climbs and asphalt underfoot throughout. Before that, say goodbye to the cathedral of San Martín and cross the Ponte Romana over the Miño, with the chapel of Os Remedios at its foot. You leave the Miño valley behind and gain height through inland Galicia, among oak woods, vineyards and small hamlets. Cea is the bread-making village par excellence: its bread, the first in Spain with Protected Geographical Indication status, has been baked since the 13th century, and the Monastery of Oseira is a detour away.

A long-haul stage across the hills that separate Ourense from Pontevedra. The farewell tastes of bread: Cea’s artisan bread, whose traditional ovens can still be visited. It’s worth taking the variant via the Monastery of Oseira, the “Galician Escorial”, a Romanesque-Gothic gem, even though it adds a few kilometers: its sheer scale is impressive. From there, natural paths through parishes and hamlets take you to Lalín, regarded as Galicia’s “kilometer zero” because it lies at its geographical center, with the largest concentration of pre-Roman castros (hillforts) in the region and the Pazo de Liñares. And don’t leave without trying its cocido, one of the most renowned in Galicia.

A short stage through the green interior of Galicia, among oak woods, hamlets and dirt tracks. You leave Lalín, the capital of Galician cocido, along a pleasant riverside walk and reach two Romanesque gems: the medieval bridge of Taboada and the church of Santiago de Taboada, where you can get your pilgrim passport (credencial) stamped. After the Pazo de Trasfontao you leave the Deza area, enter the municipality of Silleda and cross the Toxa River to Bandeira, near the Fervenza do Toxa waterfall and the monastery of Carboeiro: a good place to try empanada (Galician savory pie). This stretch is shared by the Vía de la Plata, the Camino Sanabrés and the Camino de Invierno.

A short, quiet stage, one of those you walk without watching the clock, with Santiago now within reach. From Bandeira, paths through carballeiras (oak groves), hamlets and fields take you to the Ulla valley: you leave the Silleda area, cross the river on the historic Ponte Ulla bridge and enter the municipality of Vedra. The stage ends in Santa Cruz de Rivadulla, the cradle of the camellia in Galicia. Don’t leave without seeing the Pazo de Rivadulla, next to the church of Santa Cruz: its famous avenue of centuries-old olive trees and its camellias make up one of the most beautiful gardens in Galicia.

The last day, with a climb to leave the Ulla valley behind. Set off early to make the most of Santiago. Leafy woods take you to Lestedo, from where you can detour to the legendary Pico Sacro, with views over the whole area. You enter Santiago de Compostela from the south, through the Sar district: you cross its Roman bridge and climb into the historic center through the Arco de Mazarelos to the Praza do Obradoiro. Leave time for the cathedral, for the Compostela and for celebrating the end of your Camino.