Stage 12. Lalín – Bandeira (17 km)

The stage sets off from Lalín, capital of the Galician cocido stew, leaving the town along the pleasant riverside walk of the Pantiñas. It runs for some 17 kilometres through the green Galician interior —oak woods, hamlets and dirt tracks— with two Romanesque gems along the way: the medieval bridge of Taboada and its church. Little by little you leave the lands of Deza and enter the municipality of Silleda to reach A Bandeira, close to the Fervenza do Toxa waterfall and the monastery of Carboeiro.

This section is shared by the three Ways that merge on their way to Santiago: it belongs to the Vía de la Plata, the Sanabrian Way and the Camino de Invierno. If you would rather walk only the final Galician stretch with your accommodation and luggage taken care of, you can do so with the Vía de la Plata from Ourense.

You leave Lalín along the pleasant riverside walk by the Pontiñas river and continue through a stretch rich in monuments: the medieval bridge of Taboada and the Romanesque church of Santiago de Taboada, where you can stamp your credencial. Past the Pazo de Trasfontao and Silleda, you cross the Toxa river to reach Bandeira. It's the perfect place to try the traditional Galician empanada, the star dish of the area.