Stage

O Cebreiro - Triacastela

Villafranca del Bierzo - O Cebreiro Triacastela - Sarria

21 km

From O Cebreiro, the French Way ploughs into Galicia from a height of 1,300 metres, with some 150 kilometres to go until the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. You will veer towards Liñares, descending 3 kilometres to ascend afterwards through the Ancares Mountains. The constant ups and downs call for a relaxed pace with which to enjoy the scenery as you walk.

On the hilltop of San Roque, at 1,270 metres, walkers are welcomed by the statue of a pilgrim. As you continue you will reach the Hospital da Condesa, thus named after a hospital founded in the 9th century by the Countess of Gatón to tend to medieval pilgrims. The church of San Xoán and the views from the Alto do Poio at over 1,300 metres should not be missed.

After this, the path descends towards Fonfría and then O Viduedo, just 7 kilometres away from Triacastela. While Santiago’s cathedral was being erected, there used to be a quarry just outside this village, where many pilgrims used to take a stone and carry it with them to contribute to the construction of the cathedral.

Tips from our postmen and women

What to do and see in the stage O Cebreiro - Triacastela?

Ana Piñeiro Correos As Nogais

“In this area of Os Ancares, there is a deep-seated traditional belief in the evil eye or “mal de ollo”. Villagers once commonly held that there were people with sharp eyesight who could bring the evil eye onto others unwillingly, and that is why they used to cover their right eye, the one deemed to be at fault.

In Pedrafita people believed that you got the evil eye if you did not look at the Eucharistic Chalice and Host at the moment of consecration, but the next Sunday it was gone if you paid attention. In As Nogais, in order to free cattle from the evil eye, they used to lay a pair of men’s trousers on the ground and make the cow tread over them so that it could yield the milk “que a meiga cortara”, (lit. curdled by the witch”)

“The landscape of Triacastela is really beautiful and locals are lively and always willing to chat. It is a small but ideal place to take a break. There are several boarding houses, hostels and restaurants on the Camino that are typical of this area and the food is just fantastic!”.