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Stage of the Camino

Sarria to Palas de Rei (Bici)

From Sarria To Palas de Rei

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Origin

Sarria

Destination

Palas de Rei

Distance

47.00 km

Duration

3.75 h

Difficulty

Media

Ascent

900 m

Descent

780 m

Stage of the Camino

Stage Description

The first Galician stage of the final hundred kilometres, and the busiest of the entire Camino, since Sarria is the usual starting point for earning the Compostela. The route plunges into the most authentic rural Galicia, an endless succession of ups and downs threading between hamlets, oak woods, streams and the region's emblematic hórreos and cruceiros. After an undulating opening stretch the road drops to the dammed waters of the Miño, crosses them and climbs to Portomarín, a village rebuilt on higher ground whose fortress-church of San Nicolás was moved stone by stone. The second half tackles the long ascent to the Sierra Ligonde before reaching Palas de Rei. It is an entertaining stage to ride, with moderate elevation gain, defined by the festive, crowded atmosphere of pilgrims along this closing section of the Camino.
Stretching some 47 kilometres, this stage opens the final leg of the Camino Francés from Sarria, the most popular starting point of the whole route. The profile is the constant up and down so typical of the Galician interior, with no major climbs but a steady accumulation of elevation gain, all in an atmosphere enlivened by the great flow of pilgrims.

The exit from Sarria climbs through the old town, past the church of Santa Mariña and the convent of A Magdalena, before soon entering a rural landscape of extraordinary charm: sunken lanes flanked by stone walls, woods of oaks and carballos, small hamlets with their hórreos and cruceiros, and the famous kilometre 100 marker, where many pilgrims stop for a photo.

Beyond Morgade and Ferreiros, the path drops to the Miño, here held back in the Belesar reservoir and crossed by a long bridge. On the far side, a steep flight of steps leads up to Portomarín, a village relocated to its present site in the 1960s when the reservoir was built; its fortress-church of San Nicolás, belonging to the Knights of St John, was dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone at the top of the village.

The second half of the stage faces the longest climb of the day, up towards the Alto de Sierra Ligonde, by way of Gonzar and Castromaior, where a remarkable Celtic hillfort survives. Past the summit, the road rolls on through Ligonde and Eirexe to Palas de Rei, a town in the A Ulloa region that traditionally marks the end of the stage and prepares for the final stretch towards Santiago.

Last updated: 16/06/2026

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