Camino Francés
17.9 km, 293 m up and 338 m down, through 6 places. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Puente de Domingo Flórez. 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.
At the intersection with Calle Chao de Marco, turn left. When it curves right, turn left at the Día supermarket (a mojón will direct you) onto Calle Acceso Quereño. You'll cross the bridge into Galicia. About 50 m after the railway bridge, Bar Estanco is opposite the Quereño station.
After crossing the bridge, the camino makes a large U-shaped loop. Pass the electricity pylons on your left, go under the railway bridge, and take the middle of the three roads ahead, looping past houses into Quereño.
The bridge over the river at Quereño marks your arrival in Galicia — specifically in the province of Ourense. The landscape changes noticeably: the dry Bierzo gives way to the green, river-carved valleys of the Río Sil. …
As you complete the U-shaped loop near the railway tracks, make a relatively sharp right turn to go uphill and cross the tracks. The camino weaves a bit, crossing over the tracks (putting you between the tracks and the river) and then crossing back about a kilometer later.
From here, the camino keeps to the right bank of the Río Sil, paralleling the railway. This is the stretch the Invierno is known for — a riverine microclimate with sunny exposures that avoids freezing temperatures. Look for two picnic tables with river views. Ignore any old arrows on the other side of the tracks.
On the way from Pumares to Sobradelo, you'll walk for a long time on a high path with shale cliffs and wildflowers on one side and a long drop to treetops, railway tracks, and the Río Sil on the other. The path is wide and shouldn't cause anxiety except for those with extreme issues with heights.
Arrows may disappear coming into Sobradelo. Enter town on Camino Regueiros de Aguas.
Nogueiras is an abandoned village along the railway track — mostly ruins now. The camino passes through on the way between Pumares and Sobradelo. It's atmospheric in a melancholy way, a reminder of the rural depopulation…
Whichever branch of Calle de Éntoma you take through town, you'll ascend to the OU-0801 road heading to O Barco. After a few kilometers on the road shoulder, a camino marker takes you off the highway onto more scenic forest trails.
Leaving the hamlet, the camino takes you up through a forest of pine, chestnut, and cherry trees, with some vineyards. You'll arrive on O Barco's outskirts and back on the OU-0801. It's at least half an hour into the center, with development stretched along the highway.
Watch for two blue Camino signs and a mojón indicating a narrow tunnel to your left, under the train tracks. After the tunnel, enter the slate mill and turn right on a gravel track. O Barco is near — up a sharp climb and over another train tunnel.
Leave O Barco on the river walk. After passing the cafés, parks, and playgrounds, cross a small wooden footbridge over a tributary (not the river itself). After the sanitary plant, a mojón takes you off the path. At the roundabout, turn left. Walk straight, cross the tracks, and continue on an access road parallel to the highway all the way into Arcos.
The albergue of Xagoaza is not in O Barco but rather 3.5 km north of town. Contact Gloria at 639 921 679 to arrange your stay.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 554 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 18 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.