Stage Salceda to Santiago de Compostela

The last stage of the Camino links Salceda with the Jacobean goal along 27.2 kilometres of moderate profile, mostly between eucalyptus woods and sections running parallel to the N-547. It is a long but manageable day, charged with the emotion of arrival, combining woodland, hamlets and an urban approach into the heart of Santiago de Compostela.

From Salceda, the path runs through A Calle and O Empalme to Santa Irene, where a small chapel and its fountain mark the highest point of the route. The descent leads to A Rúa and to O Pedrouzo (Arca), administrative centre of the concello of O Pino and the last major service point before the capital, the usual place to spend the night on the eve of arrival.

After O Pedrouzo, the Camino enters the oak wood of San Antón and crosses Amenal before tackling the climb up the monte do Aeroporto, skirting the runways of Lavacolla airport. It then reaches the hamlet of Lavacolla, where medieval pilgrims washed in the stream so as to enter the city of the Apostle clean.

The last short climb rises to the Monte do Gozo, from whose summit the cathedral towers come into view for the first time. An urban descent crosses the San Lázaro district and, by way of the rúa de San Pedro and the Porta do Camiño, enters the old city. The goal is reached in the Praza do Obradoiro, at the foot of the baroque façade of the cathedral of Santiago, the end of the Camino and of the pilgrimage.