Vía de la Plata
22.2 km, 157 m up and 529 m down, through 12 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 Xunqueira de Ambía. 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.
After passing the church the camino turns right to follow the road towards Salgueiros, but quickly leaves the road to follow a side road and track down to the Rio Arnoia (0.9 km). It then climbs up to A Pousa along another track which turns off from the road shortly after crossing the river.
The river crossing marks the transition from the Xunqueira valley toward the long approach to Ourense.
Between A Pousa and Ourense the camino is almost entirely along paved roads. It passes through the hamlets of Salgueiros (bar) (1.6 km), Veirada (1.6 km), Ousende (0.9 km), Panelas (bar, shop) (0.9 km), Venda do Rio (2.1 km), Pereiras (bar, shop) (0.5 km), A Castellana (bar) (2.3 km), and Reboredo (bar, shop, pharmacy) (2.2 km) before reaching Ourense's nearest suburb of Seixalbo.
Small hamlet with a bar. One of the string of villages on the approach to Ourense.
Hamlet on the road to Ourense. No services.
Hamlet on the road to Ourense. No services.
Small village with a bar and shop. Useful for provisions on the approach to Ourense.
Another hamlet along the road. No services.
Small village with a bar and shop. Getting closer to Ourense now -- the built environment is starting to thicken.
The urbanisation begins here. A bar marks the transition from rural Galicia to the outskirts of Ourense.
Bar, shop, pharmacy. The last hamlet before the suburb of Seixalbo. You're essentially in the Ourense metropolitan area now.
From Seixalbo and the Capela Santa Adega, the camino descends towards Ourense, either along the main road or a side road. It eventually reaches a large car dealership. Stop.
The official camino from here follows the road more or less straight into the centre of Ourense. To your left is an alternate route to follow the river into the city -- the Paseo Fluvial, which is recommended if you want a quieter, more scenic entrance.
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.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 126 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 22 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.