Vía de la Plata
15.3 km, 134 m up and 709 m down, through 7 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 Hospital de la Condesa. 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.
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…
A tiny hamlet on the descent to Triacastela. No reliable services. The path drops through increasingly green countryside — the Galician landscape is asserting itself.
Another small hamlet on the descent. The vegetation thickens as you lose altitude: chestnut, oak, and the first eucalyptus trees appear.
A hamlet on the mountain road. No services. The descent continues through mixed forest.
A small village just above Triacastela. A bar may be open. The valley floor is visible below, and the walking eases as the gradient lessens.
Triacastela marks the bottom of the long descent from O Cebreiro and a natural stopping point. The village sits in a green valley, a dramatic contrast to the exposed mountain walking above. The name refers to three castl…
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 224 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 15.4 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.