Camino Portugués
15.9 km, 1463 m up and 1468 m down, through 3 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 Combarro. 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.
The Variante Espiritual crosses the road and immediately begins its ascent of the Monte Redondo. The climb varies in intensity from extremely steep to gently rolling and back again. Go gently.
From the mirador the camino levels out a bit and follows along a mountain track. It eventually joins a paved road but only for 250m when it crosses the road and begins the descent into Armenteira.
From Armenteira the camino joins a popular (among locals) trail known as the Ruta de la Piedra y del Agua. It follows along a creek, with trails on both sides, as it descends to sea level. Along the way, it passes several dozen abandoned water mills. Note that although you can safely and easily follow both sides of the river, it is the right-hand side that keeps you closer to the mills and the water.
The riverside walk is interrupted by a large highway and associated roundabouts, but no sooner than you pass them do you return to the trail.
As you approach Puente Arnelas you need to follow the arrows that lead you up a steel and wood walkway under the belly of the bridge. At the top, turn right to get up to the road level and follow it into the small village. A short ways on the camino joins the broad Río Umia.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 393 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 15.9 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.