Camino At Your PaceWinter Way Classic Self-Guided

Make your way to Monforte de Lemos by train from Madrid or by private transfer from Santiago Airport, then settle into your accommodation in the heart of the Ribeira Sacra. Set beside the River Cabe, the town developed around its hilltop medieval fortress and Benedictine monastery.

Explore the historic quarter, cross the old bridge and admire the monumental Colegio de Nosa Señora da Antiga. Monforte also offers an inviting introduction to the wines and cuisine of the Ribeira Sacra before you begin walking toward Santiago tomorrow.

Your journey begins beside the River Cabe before leaving Monforte through peaceful countryside. Country lanes and woodland paths lead past small hamlets, traditional stone houses and the first vineyards of the Ribeira Sacra, gradually revealing the rural character of the Winter Way.

This remarkable wine region stretches across the valleys of the Sil and Miño rivers, where vines have been cultivated on steep slopes for centuries. Today’s manageable stage provides a gentle introduction to one of the quietest Camino routes to Santiago.

Leave Piñeiro and climb gradually through oak and chestnut woodland, following peaceful country lanes above the Miño Valley. Small villages, vineyards and occasional views across the Ribeira Sacra accompany this short but steadily ascending stage.

Your destination is the Romanesque Church of San Paio de Diomondi, built in the 12th century and once connected to a nearby Benedictine monastery. From here, a transfer takes you to Chantada, an attractive market town with a compact medieval quarter, where you will spend the night.

After a short transfer to A Devesa, walk among the vineyards overlooking the Miño Valley before returning to Chantada. Cross the town and continue into the countryside, where quiet lanes and woodland paths lead through hamlets surrounded by farmland and gently rising hills.

Your stage ends at Vilaseco, your base for the next two nights. This peaceful rural setting provides a comfortable pause before tomorrow’s ascent toward Monte Faro, one of the most distinctive high points on this section of the Winter Way.

Leave Vilaseco and continue toward Penasillás, where you can choose how to approach Monte Faro. The gentler route through Mouricios skirts the mountain across quieter, more level countryside, while the traditional Camino climbs more steeply toward its exposed summit.

The higher route reaches the Hermitage of Our Lady of Mount Faro at approximately 1,190 m (3,900 ft), with far-reaching views across central Galicia. Whichever route you follow, the stage concludes near the 15th-century Pazo de Camba before your return transfer to Vilaseco.

Return to Pazo de Camba and resume your journey through an increasingly pastoral landscape of woodland, farmland and scattered stone villages. This quiet section crosses the upper valley of the Arnego River, far from the busier paths found on the better-known Camino routes.

Along the way, discover the medieval bridge of Pedroso, whose single stone arch spans the river in an especially peaceful setting. Continue toward A Eirexe, where today’s walk ends and your transfer takes you to Lalín, your base for the next two nights.

Return to A Eirexe and follow the Winter Way through chestnut woods, open farmland and small communities shaped by generations of passing travelers. In A Ponte, several traditional houses still retain the stone shelves once used as counters for serving pilgrims and other visitors.

Monte Farelo rises to the east, while views back toward Monte Faro accompany parts of the route. After crossing the Rego do Barranco and passing Palmaz, you reach Lalín, a lively market town known as the geographical center, or “Kilometer 0,” of Galicia.

Leave Lalín beside the Pontiñas River and continue through oak woodland, farmland and quiet villages. At A Laxe, the Winter Way joins the Sanabrés route, followed by pilgrims traveling north from the Vía de la Plata for the final approach to Santiago.

Beyond Prado and A Borralla, the path descends toward the River Deza. Cross the beautiful medieval bridge of Taboada, built from large stone slabs in a secluded wooded setting, before climbing to the parish of Taboada, where today’s walk ends.

The route initially passes through the outskirts of Silleda, the principal town on today’s stage and a convenient place to pause for lunch. Beyond the town, the scenery becomes increasingly rural as the Camino returns to farmland, woodland paths and a succession of small Galician villages.

Continue through Bandeira, a village associated with Galicia’s traditional empanada, before following peaceful country lanes toward Dornelas. At the end of the stage, a transfer takes you to your accommodation for the night.

Return to Dornelas and descend through woodland and quiet villages toward the River Ulla. Cross into the province of A Coruña at Ponte Ulla, where you can visit the Church of Santa María Magdalena before beginning the steady climb away from the valley.

As the path rises, the distinctive silhouette of Pico Sacro increasingly dominates the landscape. Closely connected to the legend of Saint James, the mountain has guided travelers across the region for centuries. In Lestedo, settle into an atmospheric 18th-century country house surrounded by gardens and waterfalls.

Only 13 km now separate you from Santiago. Leave Lestedo beneath the unmistakable outline of Pico Sacro and continue through villages, woodland and increasingly urban surroundings as you approach the Galician capital.

Enter the historic center through Porta de Mazarelos, the only surviving gateway of Santiago’s medieval walls, and follow its old streets to Praza do Obradoiro. The Cathedral marks the end of your Winter Way. Take time to celebrate your arrival, collect your Compostela and enjoy the atmosphere shared by pilgrims completing routes from across Europe.

Your Camino journey ends after breakfast. You may choose to extend your stay in Santiago, spend more time exploring the Cathedral and old town, enjoy a guided visit, or continue onward to Finisterre and the Atlantic coast.

A wise pilgrim once told us, “The real Camino starts where the Camino de Santiago finishes, but I will not be afraid because the Camino will always be there for me.” We hope the Camino has brought you whatever you were looking for, and we hope to see you again soon.