Camino dos Faros: Stages and Map of the Way of the Lighthouses

Frequently asked questions about Camino dos Faros

• How many stages does the Camino dos Faros have?

  The Camino dos Faros has 8 stages, from Malpica de Bergantiños to the Finisterre Lighthouse: Malpica – Playa de Niñóns, Playa de Niñóns – Ponteceso, Ponteceso – Laxe, Laxe – Arou, Arou – Camariñas, Camariñas – Muxía, Muxía – Nemiña and Nemiña – Fisterra. They’re the same eight designed by the O Camiño dos Faros association, each one planned as a day’s walk. The split is a convention: the association itself suggests breaking up six of them, all except the fourth and fifth, to complete the route in 14 days.

• How long is the Camino dos Faros?

  200.3 km (124 mi), adding up our stage pages, which give the same distances as the association that designed the route: about 200 km from Malpica de Bergantiños to Cape Finisterre. The shortest stage is Laxe – Arou, at 18 km, and the longest is Camariñas – Muxía, at 32.6 km; the rest are between 21.3 and 27.1 km. The first half, from Malpica to Arou, is 91.7 km, and the second, from Arou to Finisterre, 108.6 km. On top of the distance there’s the climbing: about 5,000 m of cumulative elevation gain over the whole route.

• Where does the Camino dos Faros start?

  It starts in the harbor of Malpica de Bergantiños, in the province of A Coruña, and ends at the Finisterre Lighthouse on Monte Facho: it doesn’t go to Santiago. You walk it from north to south, with the ocean almost always on your right, and the green arrows that mark the route only point that way. You can also start in Arou, where the fourth stage ends, and walk just the second half: from there it’s 108.6 km in 4 stages to Finisterre. If you’d rather do the first half, Malpica to Arou is 91.7 km in another 4.

• How long does it take to walk the Camino dos Faros?

  8 days of walking, at one stage a day, plus the day you arrive in Malpica and the day you travel back from Finisterre. They’re long days: the association plans them for an average of 9 hours, at a relaxed pace of 3 km/h or less, with stops to enjoy the views and take photos. If you split the stages where the association suggests, the route takes 14 days. And you can do it in sections: each half, Malpica to Arou or Arou to Finisterre, is 4 days of walking.

• Is the Camino dos Faros a Camino de Santiago route, and does it earn you the Compostela?

  No. The Camino dos Faros is a hiking trail along the Costa da Morte: it runs from Malpica to Cape Finisterre without going through Santiago, and it isn’t among the routes on the official Camino de Santiago website for Galicia. Nor does it earn you the Compostela, which is awarded to those who reach Santiago after walking at least 100 continuous km toward Santiago on one of the routes recognized by the Pilgrim’s Office (see the Compostela requirements). The association that designed the trail makes it clear: it “neither has nor wants to have any physical accreditation.” If you’re looking for a Camino de Santiago route that takes you to the end of the world, the Camino Finisterre and Muxía starts in Santiago and has its own certificates.

• How difficult is the Camino dos Faros?

  Moderate, according to the association that designed the route, but it’s more demanding than it looks: the association warns that it’s neither easy nor a stroll along the shoreline, but “a mountain trail at sea level,” with uneven ground and constant ups and downs adding up to about 5,000 m of elevation gain. The stages are long, about 9 hours at a relaxed pace, and the difficulty builds as the days go by. The easiest is the fourth, Laxe – Arou, at 18 km; the longest, Camariñas – Muxía, is 32.6 km of almost flat walking. In rain or wind, the rocks and cliffs can be dangerous: check the forecast before you set off.

• What is the hardest stage of the Camino dos Faros?

  Muxía – Nemiña (25.3 km): the association places “the toughest section of the trail” here. Its first ten kilometers, from Lourido beach to Moreira beach, string together three serious climbs: Monte Cachelmo, which rises from sea level to 150 m at an average gradient of 23%, Punta Buitra and Monte Pedrouzo, at over 260 m, with a technical descent toward Moreira; bring trekking poles. Also tough are Nemiña – Fisterra (26.9 km), with the highest cliffs on the route at Cabo de la Nave and the final steep pull up Monte Facho, and Playa de Niñóns – Ponteceso (27.1 km), along the Costa Tremosa.

• What is the most beautiful stage of the Camino dos Faros?

  Every hiker has their own favorite, but the association singles one out: of Arou – Camariñas it says it’s “one of the best hikes you’ll ever have done,” for the Monte Branco dune, the beaches of Trece, the English Cemetery and the Cabo Vilán lighthouse. Our stage pages also highlight Playa de Niñóns – Ponteceso, one of the most spectacular, for the Costa Tremosa and the Roncudo lighthouse; Muxía – Nemiña, for Cape Touriñán, the westernmost point of mainland Spain; and the last one, Nemiña – Fisterra, for Rostro beach and the arrival at the Finisterre Lighthouse.

• When is the best time to walk the Camino dos Faros?

  There’s no set season: the association highlights its scenery in all four seasons. What matters is each day’s weather: in rain or wind, the rocks and cliffs can be dangerous, so check the forecast, the tides and the daylight hours, as the stages take around 9 hours. From January to March, the wettest months, the Seiruga stream can come up to your chest and you have to take an alternative path; in summer, you can wade across the Ría de Lires as a shortcut for a couple of hours a day. From March 15 to July 15, if you’re hiking with a dog, keep it under control on the big beaches because of nesting birds.

• How much does an organized Camino dos Faros tour cost?

  It depends on the number of days, your dates and the services you add. If you book it with us, we reserve you a private room in guesthouses, rural houses and small hotels, and include practical information about the route, phone assistance on the trail and travel insurance; luggage transfer, breakfasts or half board and private transfers are optional. You can walk the whole route, in 8 stages, or just one half, Malpica to Arou or Arou to Finisterre; for your dates, design your route and see the price instantly.

• What’s the difference between the Camino dos Faros and the Camino Finisterre and Muxía?

  Both reach Finisterre and Muxía, but they’re very different. The Camino Finisterre and Muxía is a Camino de Santiago route that starts in Santiago: 88.6 km in 4 stages to Finisterre, first inland and then along the coast from Cee, and another 31 km to Muxía; it’s a quiet route without big climbs, with its own certificates, the Fisterrana and the Muxiana. The Camino dos Faros is a hiking trail that starts in Malpica and almost always runs right along the edge of the sea, with constant ups and downs: 200.3 km in 8 stages, with Muxía at the end of the sixth and Cape Touriñán and Lires before you reach Finisterre.

• Can you cycle the Camino dos Faros?

  Not on the hiking route: according to the association, it follows narrow, rocky paths with steep slopes that make more than half of it impossible on a mountain bike. For mountain bikers, the association designed, with help from the Club Ciclista de Cee (the Cee cycling club), an alternative that is 98% rideable and reaches the most significant points of the route, in eight stages of about four hours each, although every one has its catch: a steep climb, a dangerous descent or a very technical section. That variant isn’t waymarked: you follow it with the GPS track. We organize the route on foot.

• Can you do the Camino dos Faros by car?

  Not the trail itself: it’s a hiking route along narrow fishermen’s paths, beaches and cliffs. What you can do by car is follow the road that hugs the coast most closely between Malpica and Finisterre, stopping at the lighthouses, fishing villages and beaches. We explain how, split into five sections over about five days, in our guide to the Lighthouse Route by car.