Vía de la Plata
8.8 km, 271 m up and 17 m down, through 2 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 Portomarín. 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.
From the square simply head downhill along the colonnaded street and stick to it until you arrive at the main road. DO NOT keep going straight. Rather turn left and head back in the direction of the bridge into town. Before you get there arrows will direct you onto a different bridge over a small river that feeds the reservoir.
At the end of the bridge are two options: TURN RIGHT.
From here it is a steadily uphill march all the way to Gonzar, passing Toxibo with its hórreo along the way. After passing through a stretch of forest the camino returns to the main road and parallels it on a gravel track. This track crosses back and forth over the main road on several occasions. Be mindful of traffic here, particularly during the morning hours when the area can be thick with fog.
Be aware of high-speed traffic as you are required to cross back and forth across the main road.
The climb out of Portomarín is steep. Toxibo is one of the first hamlets above the reservoir, with views back over the water. A seasonal bar may be open. From here the terrain is rolling Galician hills.
The camino leaves along the road but departs from it quite quickly. You will find that it does this often; the arrows have been placed in a manner which keeps you as far from heavy traffic as possible.
Shortly beyond the village, a mere 50m off the camino to your left, are the remains of the Iron Age castro that gives the town its name. It is seldom visited (there are no signs) but is worth an exploration. It can be found before the point where you meet the main road.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 158 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 8.8 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.