Vía de la Plata
29 km, 332 m up and 739 m down, through 8 places, 4 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from A Laxe. 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.
Shortly after leaving A Laxe you pass the Pazo de Bendoiro. The camino takes you into the woods and ascends to a lovely old bridge, originally Roman but much rebuilt. The bridge is hidden in the forest and inaccessible to cars -- one of those quiet surprises the camino keeps in reserve.
A bit further on, the Romanesque church at Taboada has a carving of Samson over the doorway. You have to cross the busy highway to get there, but it's worth it. Volunteers keep the church open for pilgrim visits (8:30-15:00, closed Tuesdays).
From A Laxe, the camino is well marked and well trodden all the way to Santiago. The joining of the Invierno route means more waymarks, more pilgrims, and generally better infrastructure for the remaining distance.
Prado is a small hamlet on the approach to Taboada. No services.
Continue through the forest on well-marked paths towards Silleda.
The Romanesque church at Taboada is a small architectural gem, with a carving of Samson over the main doorway. You have to cross the busy highway to reach it — it's just a stone's throw from the camino but on the other s…
Transfontao is a small hamlet between Taboada and Silleda. No services.
The last 40km to Santiago is through pleasant Galician farmland. It is close enough now that the proximity to the roads and major highway interchanges means lots of crossings. The way from here is well marked and easy to follow.
Cross to the right side of the road as early as is convenient. At the end of town the camino veers right, and trying to cross at that point is dangerous with traffic.
From Dornelas the camino descends to the Río Ulla, passing through San Miguel de Castro (5 km) along the way.
The camino continues its descent towards the Río Ulla and the bridge town of Ponte Ulla.
The camino follows briefly a section of the N-525 as it leaves Ponte Ulla. This section can be a bit dangerous, so keep an eye open for the two times it leaves the road. The first is to your left, so you'll need to cross. The second is to your right, which means crossing back. About 500 meters separate the two crossings. If these crossings sound unnecessarily dangerous, you're not alone.
After the second crossing, the camino returns to safer side roads as it climbs to Outeiro.
The stretch of N-525 leaving Ponte Ulla can be dangerous. Keep an eye open for the two points where the camino leaves the road.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 223 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 29.5 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.