Triacastela - Sarria

The shorter one proceeds from the detour to the right, crosses the valley of San Xil, and passes through traditional villages such as A Balsa, Montán, Calvor and San Mamede do Camiño. There some steep stretches during this walk.

The other alternative on the leftward fork is a bit longer. It heads towards Samos, site of a renowned monastery erected in the 6th century, and one of the most important of its kind in Galicia.  It is both a pilgrim hostel and a tourist site with grounds open to the general public Monday to Saturday from 10 to 12:30 and 16:30 to 18:30. Sunday and holiday hours are 12:45 to 13:30 and 16:30 to 18:30. You can enjoy the monastery’s beautiful, spacious cloisters, its library, medieval pharmacy, and vestry. This place is also full of stories and curiosities. One of the cloisters has a fountain with four mermaids showing their breasts, which was the cause for much uproar. There is also a thornless bramble, said to be the one that hid its thorns when Saint Benedict fell over it to avoid prickling him. The vaults also feature a key on the ceiling with an inscription reading: “What are you looking at, fool”. Some people claim that in the murals decorating the large cloister they see faces of celebrities, such as Sofia Loren in the body of a nun or Sara Montiel (a Spanish actress) as an angel, perhaps because the painter, from Coruña, also did billboards.

Samos was a hospital for pilgrims and also a place to bury walkers who had passed away on the Way to Lugo. The monastery lies adjacent to a riverside area where you can take a break, and there are some nice restaurants in the vicinity where you can eat trout caught from this very river. 

During the last 4 kilometres both routes meet in A Guiada and lead to Sarria, where notable sites include the churches of Santa Mariña andthe Capilla del Salvador, the Mercedarian Convent of A Magdalena and the Torre de Sarria, also called Castillo de Batallón.