Sarria → Portomarín

It is the first stage of the last 100 km and, for many people, the only one they walk without feeling the pack on their shoulders — the nerves of breaking in new boots more than make up for it. The profile is gentle, with no mountain passes, though the final stretch down into Portomarín is cobbled and stepped all the way to the bridge over the Belesar reservoir, and from there you climb again, by now on empty legs, up into the village itself.

The route, village by village

You leave from the upper part of Sarria, go down the steps and cross the medieval Áspera bridge. From there the classic route passes Vilei and Barbadelo (3.6 km, with its church of Santiago and a Xunta hostel), O Mosteiro (4.2 km), A Serra (5.9 km, with a bar and a shop) and the Marzán mill (7.3 km). It continues through Morgade (11.9 km) to Ferreiros (12.9 km), where there is a Casa Cruceiro and a Romanesque church, and straight after that Mirallos and A Pena, between kilometres 13.5 and 14.

After the marker come Mercadoiro (16.9 km), A Parrocha (18.5 km, near the monastery of Loio) and Vilachá (19.8 km), with the descent to the reservoir already in sight.

Portomarín: a village that moved house

The original Portomarín went under water in 1963, when the Belesar reservoir was built on the river Miño. Its most valuable buildings — among them the fortress-church of San Xoán, a 12th-century Romanesque temple linked to the Order of Saint John and today a listed monument — were taken apart stone by stone and rebuilt on the hill where the new village stands. You notice it the moment you arrive: the street layout is suspiciously orderly for a Galician village, and the church has the defensive air of a fortress rather than a temple.

Where to sleep

The Xunta's public hostel is in the centre, at the network's usual rate of 10 €/night. Among the private ones: Ferramenteiro (15 €, at the entrance to the village), PortoSantiago (15 € in a dorm, 60 € single room), Ultreia (16 € dorm) and Casa do Marabillas (17 € dorm, from 40 € single). Portomarín has, according to Camino guides, more than 2,500 beds for 450 inhabitants: there is plenty of supply, though in high season the hostels fill up all the same. Anyone after more quiet can push on 5.5 km further to Gonzar. Guide prices for 2026.

Get a stamp on the way out of Sarria and another on arrival in Portomarín — that covers the minimum of two daily stamps the Compostela requires.