Vía de la Plata
28.1 km, 627 m up and 248 m down, through 8 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 Ourense. 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.
Just beyond the Río Miño the camino splits into two routes. The arrows here leave a bit to be desired -- there's only one fading set painted on the sidewalk to indicate the split.
Here's how to find the way: once over the Ponte Vella keep to the right side of the road and head uphill. You'll pass four streets (Rúas Ribeira de Canedo, Mercado, Ramón y Cajal, and Vicente Risco). As you near the fifth, a much larger intersection, watch the ground for arrows. From this junction, the camino either continues straight (the LEFT route) or turns right (the RIGHT route). Both merge in Casas Novas.
RIGHT ROUTE - 18.9 km: From the right turn at the split, this route follows the N-525 uphill for about 1 km. At the gas station, the camino veers right and begins to climb steeply up to Cudeiro. This is the more traditional route and offers good views back over Ourense.
LEFT ROUTE - 17.6 km: From the split, continue straight up the hill keeping to the right side. The road passes the train station (on your right, bar) and follows the road to Quinitela.
Just beyond the río the camino again splits. Here again the arrows leave a bit to be desired, there is only one set of arrows to indicate the split. They are painted on the sidewalk and are fading.Here is how to find the way:Once over the Río Miño keep to the right side of the road and head uphill. You will pass 4 streets: Rúas Ribeira de Canedo, Mercado, Ramón y Cajal, and Vicente Risco). As you near the fifth (a much larger intersection) keep an eye to the ground for the arrows. From this junction, the camino either continues straight (the LEFT route) or it turns right (the RIGHT route). Both routes merge in Casas Novas.RIGHT ROUTE - 18.9kmFrom the right-hand turn at the split, this route follows the N-525 uphill for about 1km. Follow on the right side of the road to see the arrows. At the gas station, the camino veers right and begins to climb steeply up to Cudeiro.LEFT ROUTE - 17.6kmFrom the split continue straight up the hill, and keep to the right-hand side. The road passes the train station (on your right, bar) and follows the road to Quinitela.
The camino continues through rolling Galician countryside, alternating between forest tracks and quiet country lanes. Cea is not far ahead.
The camino crosses the main road in Cea and heads uphill towards a sporting facility. Around the back side of the building, the camino splits into two distinct routes. The choice here is more consequential than the split leaving Ourense. The two options merge in Castro Dozón.
OSEIRA ROUTE - 18.4 km from split: The right route is the official camino and is longer than the Piñor variant. It passes through the village of Oseira with its massive monastery and albergue. It's better waymarked and more scenic. Turn right at the split. The paved road gives way to a track through the forest. About halfway to Pielas the camino rejoins a paved road.
PIÑOR ROUTE - 14.8 km: Shorter and more direct to Castro Dozón, but without an albergue along the way. Take care along the latter half as the waymarks can be difficult to find. It follows mostly rural tracks and country lanes through the hamlets of Porto de Souto (1 km), Cotelas (bar) (1 km), Piñor (bar, pharmacy) (1.6 km), Fontelo (0.8 km), Arenteiro (bar) (0.7 km), and O Reino (1.4 km). After O Reino the camino rejoins the N-525 and passes through Carballeda. At the far end of town, just before the exit sign, the camino turns left towards the motorway, passes beneath it, and begins the climb up to Castro Dozón.
The camino crosses the main road and heads uphill towards a sporting facility. Around the back side of the building, the camino once again splits into two distinct routes. Here the choice is a bit more complicated than the previous option. The two options merge in Castro-Dozón.PIÑOR ROUTE - 14.8kmShorter and more direct route to Castro Dozon, but without an albergue along the way. Take care along the latter half as the waymarks are difficult to find. It follows mostly rural tracks and country lanes and passes several names and un-named hamlets along the way. The identifiable ones are:Porto De Souto 1kmCotelas (bar) 1kmPiñor (bar, pharmacy) 1.6kmFontelo 0.8kmArenteiro(bar) 0.7km andO Reino 1.4kmAfter O Reinothe camino rejoins the N-525 and passes through the village of Carballeda. At the far end of town, just before the exiting Carballedasign, the camino turns left and heads towards the motorway. It passes beneath it and soon after turns right off of the road to begin the climb up to Castro Dozón.OSEIRA ROUTE - 18.4km from splitThe RIGHT route is the official camino and is a bit longer than the newer Piñor variant. It passes through the village of Oseira(Monastery and Albergue) and is scenic. It is better waymarked than the variant.Turn right at the split. The paved road comes to an end and you pick up a track through the forest. About halfway to Pielasthe camino rejoins a paved road.
Continue through the hamlet towards Fontelo. The waymarking on this variant can be spotty -- pay attention at junctions and don't assume the path is obvious.
The path splits here and rejoins before Arenteiro. Both ways are below, because the question is which to take, and that is not a question two separate pages can answer.
After crossing over the main road through Cudeiro the camino continues to climb, though more gently now. It passes several hamlets along the way and eventually returns to the N-525 (which wound around the mountain). It crosses the road and shortly after turns right to enter Tamallancos via a back road.
From Tamallancos the camino follows loosely the N-525 to Casas Novas, but seldom directly on it. It passes through the hamlets of Bouzas (bar) (0.7 km), Sobreira (bar) (3.7 km), and Viduedo (bar, shop) (1.5 km).
In Quintela, opposite the Bodegas Arnoya, the camino leaves the main road for a smaller one to the right following the signs towards Castro de Beiro. Keep on this road. The camino passes underneath the high-flying AVE bridge and then arrives at the original railway line. The passage is narrow and you will need to press the pedestrian button to trigger the change in right of way. Do not blindly enter the tunnel.
The camino passes the hamlet of Cachaxua.
Continue along the track to Ponte Mandras and then on to Casas Novas, where the two route variants merge.
The path splits here and rejoins before Arenteiro. Both ways are below, because the question is which to take, and that is not a question two separate pages can answer.
The camino follows the road out of Pielas, downhill to Oseira.
The way out of Oseira is not along the road (though cyclists may prefer it for the gentler grade) but rather up a steep track adjacent to the road near the restaurants.
The camino passes the hamlets of Vilarello (2 km), O Outeiro (2.5 km), Carballediña (1.5 km), and A Gouxa (bar) (0.4 km) before nearing the motorway and Castro Dozón.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 216 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 27.1 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.