Itinerary · 8 days · 36 places
8 Days on the Camino
Six walking days from Sarria to Santiago: four to six hours a day via Barbadelo, Portomarín, Palas de Rei, Melide, Arzúa and O Pedrouzo, with pulpo, Ribeiro wine and a stamp in your pilgrim passport in the evenings — and on the seventh day, the view from Monte do Gozo to the towers of the cathedral.
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Photo: Enrique · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in Sarria — starting at kilometre 111
Arrival in Sarria
Hotel check-in
Accommodation in Sarria's upper town around Rúa Maior, where the hostels, pilgrim shops and the steps up to the monastery sit side by side.
Torre da Fortaleza de Sarria
The only surviving tower of the medieval castle of the Counts of Lemos stands above the old town, next to the monastery of A Madalena and a view over the valley the Way descends into the next morning.
Day 2Via Barbadelo to the 100-kilometre marker
Onward to Portomarín
Hotel check-in
Igrexa de Santiago de Barbadelo
A fortified Romanesque church from the 12th century with a massive bell tower and a tympanum showing a figure with outstretched arms; the day's first stamp stop.
The 100-kilometre marker near Ferreiros
The waymarker heaped with shells, names and pebbles, from which the distance counts towards the Compostela — the most photographed piece of concrete in Galicia.
Igrexa de San Xoán de Portomarín
The fortress church of the Knights of St John was moved up stone by stone in 1962 from the flooded old Portomarín; you can still see the numbers carved into the blocks, and inside the great rose window of the Master Mateo school.
Escaleira e Capela das Neves
The old stone staircase with the arch of the chapel of Santa María das Neves at the entrance to the village — a rescued remnant of the village that now lies beneath the Belesar reservoir.
Evening: Praza Conde de Fenosa
The arcaded square in front of the church, where pilgrims sit under the arches in the evening and Ribeiro is served by the glass.
Day 3Castro, cruceiro and the knights' church of Vilar de Donas
Onward to Palas de Rei
Hotel check-in
Castro de Castromaior
An excavated Celtic settlement of round houses from the 4th century BC, just above the Way; from the foundations the view stretches across the whole plateau.
Cruceiro de Lameiros
A stone cross of 1670 with a skull, pincers and nails on its base — one of the oldest and most unusual wayside crosses on the Camino.
Igrexa de San Tirso
Behind its newer building, the parish church of Palas de Rei preserves a Romanesque portal with slender columns and capitals from the 12th century.
Igrexa de San Salvador de Vilar de Donas
Four kilometres off the route, ten minutes by taxi: the burial church of the Knights of Santiago, with 15th-century wall paintings and recumbent knight effigies in the nave.
Evening: Praza do Concello de Palas de Rei
The small square in front of the town hall with its pilgrim sculpture, where in the evening everyone who passed each other during the day meets up.
Day 4Leboreiro, Furelos and the pulpo of Melide
Onward to Melide
Hotel check-in
Igrexa de Santa María de Leboreiro
A tiny Romanesque village church with a figure of the Virgin in the tympanum, around which the legend of the glowing spring revolves; in front, the old pilgrim hospital courtyard.
Ponte medieval de Furelos
A four-arched bridge over the Río Furelos, beside the church of San Xoán with its crucifix whose right arm comes away from the cross and reaches out towards the viewer.
Igrexa de Santa María de Melide
A Romanesque church on the edge of town with surviving Gothic wall paintings in the apse — angels, saints and a Last Judgement in faded red.
Museo da Terra de Melide
A folk museum in the old pilgrim hospital: stone crosses, traditional costumes, blacksmith's tools and an excellent section on the castros of the area.
Cruceiro de Melide
Next to the chapel of San Roque stands Galicia's oldest stone cross, from the 14th century: on one side Christ enthroned, on the other the Crucifixion.
Evening: Praza do Convento
The square in front of the Sancti Spiritus monastery, with terraces where the stage winds down over a glass of Albariño.
Day 5Cheese country: Boente, Ribadiso and Arzúa
Onward to Arzúa
Hotel check-in
Igrexa de Santiago de Boente
A small wayside church with a figure of Santiago Peregrino above the altar; the priest here often stamps passports in person and blesses passers-by.
Ponte e antigo hospital de Ribadiso
A stone bridge over the Río Iso and, beside it, the restored 15th-century pilgrim hospital, one of the oldest hostel buildings in Europe still in use.
Igrexa da Madalena
The Gothic remains of a 14th-century Augustinian chapel in the middle of Arzúa, with a plain pointed-arch portal and an old cemetery garden.
Igrexa de Santiago de Arzúa
The parish church at the upper end of town has a Baroque altar with St James the Moor-slayer on horseback and is where the evening pilgrim blessing takes place.
Praza do Peregrino
Around the square are the cheese shops, where mild Arzúa-Ulloa is sold over the counter straight from the producer — you can taste before you buy.
Evening: Rúa Cima do Lugar
The old main lane with its pilgrim bars, where the last stage gets planned over tarta de Santiago and coffee.
Day 6Eucalyptus forests to O Pedrouzo
Onward to O Pedrouzo
Hotel check-in
Capela de Santa Irene
A Baroque chapel with a fountain whose water, legend has it, heals the skin; beside it, the old stone washing trough by the wayside.
Guillermo Watt memorial
A pair of bronze walking boots on a plinth commemorates the pilgrim who died in 1993, a day's walk from Santiago — passers-by leave stones beside them.
Igrexa de Santa Eulalia de Arca
A village church with a porch and cemetery above O Pedrouzo, the last stamp before arrival and a quiet spot beneath the oaks.
Evening: Avenida de Santiago in O Pedrouzo
A single long street with bars, a launderette and a hiking shop, where in the evening everyone negotiates the wake-up time for the final morning.
Day 7Monte do Gozo and arrival at the Obradoiro
Onward to Santiago de Compostela
Hotel check-in
Lavacolla
In the stream below the village, medieval pilgrims washed before appearing before the Apostle; today only a bridge and the old church on the hillside remain.
Monte do Gozo
From the monument on the Mount of Joy you see the three towers of the cathedral above the city's rooftops for the first time — this is where pilgrims once cried "Mon joie!".
Praza do Obradoiro
The square of arrival, with the Baroque Obradoiro façade, the Hostal dos Reis Católicos and the kilometre-zero stone in the middle of the paving.
Oficina de Acollida ao Peregrino
On Rúa das Carretas your pilgrim passport is checked and the Compostela issued in Latin with your own name; you get your queue number online.
Catedral de Santiago de Compostela
The Romanesque nave, the embrace of the Apostle's statue behind the high altar and the silver crypt with the tomb — the goal of the whole week.
Evening: Pilgrims' Mass in the cathedral
At 19:30 the pilgrims who arrived that day are read out by country of origin; on feast days eight tiraboleiros swing the Botafumeiro across the transept.
Day 8Market, museum and farewell
Mercado de Abastos
In the eight granite halls, farmers' wives sell grelos, Padrón peppers and Tetilla cheese; at the fish stall you can have your purchase fried next door for a fee.
Museo das Peregrinacións e de Santiago
Uses maps, pilgrim badges and reliquaries to show how a tomb in Galicia became a European network of routes; from the top floor you look out at the towers.
Parque da Alameda
From the Paseo da Ferradura under the old eucalyptus trees, you see the complete skyline of the old town — the postcard view of Santiago.
Departure from Santiago de Compostela
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