Vía de la Plata
26.6 km, 491 m up and 534 m down, through 13 places, 9 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Furelos. 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.
Furelos has a Roman bridge, a church, and a bar — a satisfying combination. The bridge is small but genuinely ancient, its stones worn smooth by two millennia of traffic. The bar serves excellent tortillas. The Iglesia …
The camino leaves Melide through the town center — watch for arrows, which can be hard to spot in the market-day crowds. Follow the main road to the first roundabout and continue straight. The terrain ahead is rolling, with forest and farmland alternating.
A hamlet between Melide and Boente. No services.
1037
Past the church, the camino turns right and descends. The hills ahead involve steep ups and downs — take it easy on tired legs.
It is uphill once more, followed by a steady descent into the valley below, steep at points.
The climb from Ribadiso to Arzúa is steady. By the time you reach the road, it levels off and the remaining distance into town is flat.
An albergue operates in the upper part of Ribadiso, at the top of the climb before Arzúa. Useful if the lower riverside spot is full.
The camino leaves Arzúa along a footpath, NOT the road. If you arrived at the main square, walk past the church (with your back to the road) and turn right onto the side street. The terrain is pleasant, a blend of trails and paved roads through small towns and lots of forests. There are a few steep sections but none of any considerable length.
A hamlet on the Francés route between Arzúa and Salceda. No services.
A hamlet between Arzúa and Salceda. No services.
A hamlet on the Francés route. No services.
A hamlet on the Francés route. No services.
A hamlet on the Francés route. No services.
The camino leaves town to the right of a wedge shaped park next to La Esquipa, not along the road.
The camino rejoins the road in Salceda, and while it does not walk on the road it does remain quite close. In fact, the camino crosses the road several times between here and Santiago. The speed of traffic, the curves in the road, and the abundance of pilgrims makes this the most dangerous stretch along the camino. Cross carefully and quickly and always under the road when possible.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 501 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 26.6 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.