Stage 11. Cea – A Laxe / Lalín (32, 8 km)

When leaving Cea we have a detour that gives us two options that converge in the village of Castro Dozón, fifteen kilometres from A Laxe.

• Option A) Variant through the Oseira Monastery

We recommend this variant that passes through the Monastery of Oseira, a huge monastery founded in the 12th century by Benedictine monks, known as the “Galician Escorial”. Visiting this impressive architectural jewel means adding 4.4 km to your stage.

We leave Cea through the Plaza Mayor following the street behind the Clock Tower, which leads us to the road and we pass in front of the football field to enter a wooded path in the direction of A Laxe. The track ends right at the access road to the tiny village of Silvaboa. We arrive at Pielas, turn right and continue along the local road until we reach the Oseira Monastery where there are bars and restaurants.

After the visit to the monastery, we continue climbing along a track that we leave on the left. We continue a couple of kilometres to Vilarello, where we turn off onto a path that goes down to a small stream. We follow the signs passing through Carballediña and Outeiro de Coiras. When we get to the latter we turn right and go up to A Gouxa (there is a bar).

We leave the village on the right, cross the road and go through Viduedos. We follow the indications until we reach the road N-525 and we arrive at Castro Dozón.

• Option B) Official route through Piñor

We leave Cea through its Plaza Mayor, turning off to the left just behind the Clock Tower. A few metres further on we turn right again to join the regional road towards Oseira.

We pass through the villages of Cotela and Piñor, alternating stretches of road and shortcuts along paths. From Piñor we continue along the road for a few kilometres, until we come to a path on the right. When we get to O Reino we join the national road. We cross the road and take another path that leads us to a bridge and back to the national road, which we will follow for the next few metres.

We turn left, parallel to the motorway and cross another bridge over the AG-53, and then right along a track. Thus we officially enter the province of Pontevedra, following the route along different rural paths and reaching Castro Dozón in just over a kilometre, after crossing the motorway again.

From Castro Dozón to A Laxe / Lalín

From Castro Dozón we still have 22 kilometres to Lalín. We leave the national road and next to the church of San Salvador and we advance alternating tracks and road for a few kilometers.

We leave the national road by a dirt track and after 700 metres we reach a crossroads. We turn left, going downhill. We cross the small village of Puxallos. We cross the AP-53 motorway and reach another village, Pontenoufe, cross the river Asneiro and take a path to the left.

We follow the signs without getting lost until we reach A Xesta and Estación de Lalín, where we will find bars where we can get refreshments.

We then pass through the parish of Botos, having to cross the national road again and continue straight on to Donsión. We cross the village and we enter a beautiful road surrounded by trees that leads us to the highway and the national road. Walking in parallel, we turn right to cross the national road and we arrive at Laxe, already in Lalín.

Since A Laxe has few accommodations and services for pilgrims, we can choose to detour to the town of Lalín, which has many more services, although this would lengthen the stage to 37 kilometers, as long as we leave from Cea.

To consider

The community of monks of the Monastery of Oseira has a humble pilgrims’ hostel and a guest house for those seeking silence and prayer. (No groups allowed)

Places of interest

• Church of Santa Eulalia of Donsión – Donsión
• Chapel of Sorrows – Lalín
• Castro Tecnológico – Lalín
• Estatua do Porco – Lalín
• Castro de Doade – Lalín
• Ethnographic Museum Casa do Patrón – Lalín

Typical dishes

• Lalín Stew
• Desserts: Filloas, orellas, fried milk, cheese with honey