Astorga – Santiago de Compostela

Check in at your hotel in the charming town of Astorga. We highly recommend taking a walk to admire the town’s architecture, including the beautiful cathedral and the bishop’s palace designed by Gaudí.

On this first stage, you cycle through the region of La Maragatería and cross the Monts de León mountains before reaching Rabanal del Camino, a charming small village dominated by stone houses. You then pass Cruz de Ferro, the Iron Cross, a simple yet famous pilgrim symbol located at 1,505 meters above sea level. As a pilgrim, you are expected to follow tradition and throw a stone onto the pile as you pass.

Afterward, you descend and continue west through Manjarín, El Acebo, and finally reach today’s destination: the picturesque town of Molinaseca.

53 km

Today’s ride takes you straight through the El Bierzo valley, passing fruit trees, vineyards, and tobacco plants. You’ll also pass through Villafranca del Bierzo, a beautiful small town known as a resting place for sick pilgrims who couldn’t continue to Santiago, before spending the night in Ambasmestas.

42 km

Today you have a challenge ahead of you — but a beautiful one: tackling the climb up and over the border into Galicia, passing through O Cebreiro, a charming and characteristic village known for its stone houses with thatched roofs, called Pallozas. The route continues along a ridge before descending into green Galicia, through pine and eucalyptus forests. When you reach Tricastela, there are two possible routes to today’s destination, Sarria. The southern route takes you via Samos, a historic path where you can visit Spain’s oldest Benedictine monastery. The northern route goes through the picturesque villages of Montan and Pintín.

56 km

This stretch takes you through the heart of Galicia, where green is the dominant color. You pass typical hórreos, granaries built on the same principle as our timber houses, and the landscape is breathtakingly beautiful. The route goes through Portomarín, a village that was affected by a flood in 1962, where you can still see remnants of the old Romanesque bridge. Afterwards, the terrain is gently rolling all the way to Palas de Rei.

60 km

Today’s cycling takes us through several charming villages, including San Xulian do Camino with its small 14th-century church dedicated to Saint Julian, and Furelos, where you cross a medieval bridge. We recommend a lunch stop in the town of Melide, known for its specialty Pulpo a la gallega, a local octopus dish.

The route to A Rua passes through oak forests and lush meadows. Worth stopping at are the medieval sanctuary of Santa Irene and the Baroque fountain, whose waters are said to be healing. Along the way, you also pass several villages whose names have the same meaning as “Camino”: Brea, Calzada, Rua, and A Calle.

46 km

Last day! You start by making your way up to Monte de Gozo, where you are rewarded with a view over all of Santiago de Compostela, a UNESCO World Heritage site. You approach the destination and along the way pass, among others, the monastery and the archbishop’s palace, before finally cycling into Santiago and reaching the legendary cathedral.

21 km

Breakfast and check-out, after which your trip with us concludes.