Stage

Sarria - Portomarín

Triacastela - Sarria Portomarín - Palas de Rei

23 km

The town of Sarria, in the province of Lugo, is for many the starting point of the French Way or Camino Francés, as this town marks the 100 kilometres needed to attain the Compostela certificate. To exit you have to cross the bridge of A Áspera and walk parallel to the railway tracks for 1 kilometre towards Barbadelo, up the most difficult hill of the day.

With over 4 kilometres now behind, the route continues towards an area with creeks and passes through the villages of Peruscallo and Lavandeira, and then ascends another, gentler hill at Ferreiros. You are now in the heart of the so-called Ribeira Sacra after some 13 kilometres. Once you are in the municipality of Paradela, there will be many ups and downs, but the surrounding landscape makes up for any difficulties. The scenic Belesar.Dam especially stands out.

When the dam was built, the old village of Portomarín was flooded, so the church and other buildings were moved, stone by stone, to their present location. In times when the rainfall is low, you can still see the ruins of the old village and the bridge on the bottom of the reservoir.

You enter Portomarín by crossing the long bridge and climbing the stairway of As Neves, leading to the chapel of the same name. The chapel is located on an arch of the old medieval bridge. The staircase is a favourite place for pilgrims to take a picture when they arrive in the village to celebrate the end of the day’s journey. One can spend a pleasant afternoon or evening in this village on the main square, by the church, where there are many lively establishments with a wonderful atmosphere where locals and pilgrims meet. There is also a leisure area by the dam.

How to get to Sarria

By plane it is possible to travel from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela. There are daily connections between the two cities with Iberia and Ryanair and the flight duration is around 70 minutes. In addition, from the Santiago airport itself there is a direct bus to Sarria with the Freire company.

From Barcelona it is also possible to travel directly to Santiago de Compostela. Vueling and Ryanair have daily flights. From Santiago airport you can travel to Sarria by bus.

Companies such as Freire and Monbús reach Sarria from Santiago de Compostela and Lugo.

This is one of the most comfortable options, as Renfe operates routes from Madrid and Barcelona. The train from Barcelona also goes through important cities such as Saragossa, Pamplona, Burgos and León, amongst others. In addition, there is a service linking Sarria with the city of Lugo, the provincial capital.

Tips from our postmen and women

What to do and see in the stage Sarria - Portomarin?

Laura López Correos Sarria

“Paradela is a good place to get your strength back by trying some of the delicacies prepared in their bakeries with traditional methods and recipes”.

What to do and see in Portomarin?

Teresa López Correos Portomarín

“In Portomarín, you cannot miss the village centre with its porticoes and the church with the numbers on the stones from its reconstruction in the current location still visible.

You can also visit the Pousada de Portomarín, an old parador with great views, or go on a tour around the dam on a catamaran, organised by the Club Náutico.

As for food, both eels (fried, stewed or in empanada) or the “Piedras de Portomarín”, a sweet with dark chocolate and whole almonds, are worth a try”.