Camino Francés
23.4 km, 956 m up and 296 m down, through 13 places, 8 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Vega de Valcarce. 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.
Vega de Valcarce is the last village of any size before the climb to O Cebreiro. It has more services than the hamlets behind it — several bars, albergues, a small supermarket, and a pharmacy. The ruins of the Castillo …
Stock up on food and water here or in Las Herrerías. The climb to O Cebreiro has no services.
A tiny hamlet between Vega de Valcarce and Las Herrerías. A small albergue has operated here intermittently. The valley continues to narrow.
The climb begins immediately after Las Herrerías. The path is steep, gaining altitude through chestnut forest before emerging into open mountain pasture. The gradient eases in the final stretch to La Faba.
No services between here and O Cebreiro. The climb is steep and exposed in places. In bad weather, take the road variant rather than the mountain path.
A tiny settlement on the climb above Las Herrerías — barely more than a couple of houses. The name refers to a pilgrim hospital that once served English pilgrims specifically, suggesting the international nature of the m…
At this junction, walkers turn left and descend on a footpath while cyclists continue straight along the road. Both routes reach La Faba. The footpath is steeper but shorter.
La Faba is a small mountain village at about 1,100 m, roughly halfway up the climb from Las Herrerías to O Cebreiro. A basic albergue and a bar provide welcome refreshment. The village has a handful of stone houses and a…
The last settlement in Castilla y León — a couple of houses and a small albergue. From here the boundary with Galicia is close, marked by a stone at the provincial line. The landscape is open mountain, with heather and g…
You've entered Galicia — the final autonomous community on the Camino Francés. The boundary stone is modest, but the change is real. The language shifts (Galician appears on signs alongside Castilian), the landscape tran…
From O Cebreiro, the camino continues along the ridgeline through Liñares and Alto de San Roque before descending toward Triacastela. The first few kilometers stay above 1,200 m, with sweeping views when the weather cooperates.
Liñares is a small mountain hamlet just beyond O Cebreiro, sitting on the ridgeline above 1,200 m. A bar and a basic albergue provide services. The walking here is along the open mountaintop, with views in every directio…
A bronze statue of a pilgrim leaning into the wind stands at the Alto de San Roque (1,270 m), perfectly capturing what it feels like to walk this exposed ridgeline. On a windy day — which is most days — the statue's post…
Hospital de la Condesa takes its name from a medieval pilgrim hospital founded by a countess. The village is small — a bar and an albergue — but it sits in a pleasant mountain valley. The terrain begins to descend from t…
A small mountain village between Hospital de la Condesa and the Alto do Poio. A bar provides refreshment. The stone houses with slate roofs are typical of this part of the Galician mountains.
At 1,335 m, the Alto do Poio is the highest point on the Galician section of the Camino Francés. A bar-restaurant operates here, and a large stone monument marks the spot. The descent from here is long and steady, droppi…
Fonfría ('cold fountain') sits on the descent from the Alto do Poio to Triacastela. The name is apt — at this altitude, the water from the village fountain runs cold year-round. A couple of albergues and a bar serve pilg…
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 555 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 23.2 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.