Camino de Invierno
29.9 km, 729 m up and 531 m down, through 13 places, 1 of which has somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Monforte de Lemos. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.
Cross the Puente Romano and make an immediate left at the monastery of the Clarisas. Go right at the old town hall plaza — you'll see a shell set into the pavement. Follow Rúa Abeledos to the edge of town, passing an unmarked bakery on the left. Where two roads branch left (Rúa O Saviñao and Poeta Manuel María), take the latter. Walk between the church of San Antonio and the back of the Gadis supermarket to reach a roundabout with a hórreo. Turn left to another roundabout — a pilgrim statue points toward A Vide. Pass the 24-hour Repsol station on the right.
The next stretch is one of the few sections on asphalt with no soft shoulder.
Stock up on food and water here. The next 29 km to Chantada have very little in the way of services. Between here and Chantada, your only accommodation options are casas rurales: La Rectoral de Castillón (tel. 982 455 415, about 10 km out — the owners will pick up pilgrims from the camino), Torre Vilariño (tel. 982 452 260, about 14 km out), and a casa rural in Castrotañe. Phone ahead to reserve.
The camino is well marked leaving A Vide, and off-road alternatives have been closed. Stay on the asphalt road through Broza, about 2.5 km, passing the old Pazo O Reguengo estate as a landmark.
After the estate walls end, a mojón indicates a left turn onto a paved road. This goes through the small hamlet of San Lourenzo. When the road ends, the camino goes briefly into the fields before emerging in Castrotañe, where an English woman named Penelope runs a casa rural with rooms for pilgrims at reasonable prices (tel. 677 120 321 / 982 171 632, galiciaholidayrentals.com). One pilgrim paid 20 euros for a room with kitchen access; Penelope has also been known to drive guests into town for shopping.
The path continues to Piñeiro and its fountain. If the path from San Lourenzo is overgrown or muddy, stay on the LU-P-4112 — in a few minutes you'll reach Piñeiro and rejoin the camino at the fountain.
Regueiro de Moreda is a tiny hamlet on the road between A Vide and A Broza. No services. The camino passes through on the asphalt road heading toward the Pazo O Reguengo.
A Broza is a small hamlet near the Pazo O Reguengo, a noble stone estate complex that serves as a landmark on this stretch. No services.
From the fountain onward to O Camiño Grande, the mojones take you on a lovely walk through fields and green tunnels, with stone walls on either side.
At the crossroads in O Camiño Grande, the camino enters the concello of O Saviñao. At a junction with numerous signs, continue straight on the LU-P-5807 toward Fión (you'll see the km 0 road marker). A turn to the right goes to Escairón — don't take it unless you're doing the Escairón alternative described below.
The camino stays on the road (virtually no traffic) and passes through a string of small hamlets — Fontela, Vilaravides, Vilatinosa, A Madredauga, Sobrado, O Cerdeiro, A Vendanova, Outeiro, Montecelo — before arriving at Diomondi. You'll enter the parroquia of Diomondi about 2 km before reaching the church.
A Barxa is one of the small hamlets strung along the quiet LU-P-5807 between O Camiño Grande and Diomondi. No services.
Fión is a small hamlet on the LU-P-5807 between O Camiño Grande and Diomondi. No services. The road through here has virtually no traffic.
Sobrado is one of several small hamlets along the quiet road between O Camiño Grande and Diomondi. No services. Don't confuse this with Sobradelo, the larger village back near O Barco de Valdeorras.
Cirdeiro (also written O Cerdeiro) is a small hamlet on the road between O Camiño Grande and Diomondi. No services.
Montecelo is the last hamlet before Diomondi. No services. You've been in the parroquia of Diomondi for about 2 km by this point — the church is just ahead.
At the shelter, the camino leaves the road and turns left, beginning the descent of the codos (elbows) of Belasar — a 2.5 km stretch of steep, broken pavement with remnants of the old Roman road. The 17th-century chronicler of this route noted that the bridge and path were named after a Roman captain named Belisario, apparently in charge of the original construction.
The path zigzags from forest into terraced vineyards, descending to the river. It's hard on the knees — hiking poles help enormously. The descent is marked with GR red-and-white blazes. Don't worry about the lack of yellow arrows on this stretch.
After crossing the Río Miño, begin a steep ascent that takes you on and off the road several times. You'll pass two winery-restaurants on the way up.
The first is Via Romana, on the right. The caretaker may invite you to look around, rest on the balcony overlooking the river, or have a glass of wine. The second, on the left, is the Mesón Adega do Veiga — a comfortable terrace with fantastic views back down to Belasar. People come from Ourense to eat here, so booking is smart. In low season it's only open on weekends; June through September it's open daily except Tuesdays. It's always closed on the 5th and 21st of the month. Tel. 657 805 731.
After the wineries, the camino drops to a small river and a mill, then climbs again. Back on the road, when you reach the third winery, the camino goes off-road to the right. This trail may be muddy and overgrown, but it emerges in San Pedro de Líncora.
From San Pedro to Chantada is mostly downhill and on the side of the road. Cross the Río Asma, and the camino continues into the old quarter of Chantada.
Leave Chantada from Praza Santa Ana along Alférez Baanante, heading toward Centulle. You're on the in-town portion of the LU-1809. Just past the first peto de ánimas (a medieval crossroads shrine with carved images of souls in purgatory — the slot was for monetary offerings on their behalf), a mojón takes you off the road.
Continue through Centulle. You'll return to the LU-1809, then follow arrows right. About a hundred meters down, go left onto the service road of the main Chantada-Lalín highway. Stay on the service road for a few kilometers. After passing under a road bridge, turn left. Go through Boán, then straight through Lucenza. Before the end of Lucenza, take the path right. At the stop sign, cross the road and follow the mojón left. Cross the next road and continue straight to Penasillás.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 582 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 29.6 km.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.