Vía de la Plata
9.3 km, 107 m up and 165 m down, through 4 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 San Paio - San Payo. 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.
The church is dedicated to San Paio (San Pelayo), the 14-year-old saint kidnapped by invading Muslim troops, taken to Seville, and martyred — his body cast into the Río Guadalquivir. All three routes from the Norte conve…
If you walked down the stairs to visit either of the bars at the bottom, turn and walk up the steps towards the Iglesia de Benaval. The camino continues around to the right-hand side and down to cross the road. At the road, cross at the crosswalk and continue along the road and over the famous river (see inset below).The last hill is ahead, and if you are a stickler for doing things according to tradition you should start running now. It is said that the first of your group to arrive in Monte de Gozo is entitled to be called King. Be advised that there is no prize.
A hamlet on the final approach to Santiago. No services.
A hamlet before Monte del Gozo. No services.
You do not need to enter the complex but for the sake of curiosity, carrying on down the road will take you where you are heading.Pass the outdoor gallery of a local (and gifted) sculptor of stone and cross the bridge over the highway. It is midway over this bridge that you enter the city of Santiago de Compostela but to keep pilgrims from crossing the road half way across the bridge, the sign indicating such has been moved further into the city.
The walk into Santiago is through the urbanized zone that has grown up around the old town. After passing over the highway bridge the first part of Santiago you walk through is the Barrio San Lazaro; the church here is said to be the limit for pilgrims with leprosy. There is a fairly large intersection to cross where the arrows disappear and are replaced by blue and yellow signs on posts.At last, you will enter the old town, through the Porta do Camiño, winding gently through the stone paved lanes, through the Plaza Cervantes, under the Bishops residence, and into the Plaza de Obradoiro. Congratulations, and welcome to Santiago de Compostela!
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 143 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 9.1 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.