---
title: "Sarria to Santiago stages: the last 100 km"
description: "The five stages of the Camino Francés between Sarria and Santiago, day by day: distances, climbs, hostels and where the 100 km marker actually stands."
url: https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/stages-sarria-santiago
locale: en
---

# Sarria to Santiago stages: the last 100 km

The minimum stretch

Five days, one hundred and fourteen kilometres, and the most walked stretch of the entire Camino Francés. Here is each stage on its own, with what you will actually find on it.

[By Cesar Rodriguez · local guide](https://santiago.es/en/author)

![Peregrina con mochila roja y bastón caminando por el bosque de eucaliptos cerca de O Pedrouzo, poco antes de llegar a Santiago](https://santiago.es/img/eucaliptos.jpg)

[© José Antonio Gil Martínez · CC BY 2.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camino_de_Santiago_(2671924016).jpg)

Sarria is by a wide margin the most popular starting point on the Camino de Santiago: it is the hundred-kilometre minimum that [the Compostela](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/compostela-certificate) requires, it fits into a week of holiday, and it asks nothing special of your fitness. That comes at a price — it is also [the busiest stretch in the whole Camino network](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/last-100-km) — but day by day it is still a beautiful walk: oak woods, stone villages, the Belesar reservoir and [the final approach over Monte do Gozo](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/arriving).

## Before you set out: getting to Sarria

Sarria is not on the same railway line as Santiago — it belongs to the Lugo–Monforte–Ourense axis, not the Vigo–A Coruña one — so there is no direct train between the two. The usual way is the **Monbus coach**, 1h30 to 2h10 depending on how many stops it makes, from 10-14 €. Coming from Madrid, Renfe runs a connecting combination (ALVIA/AVE/AVLO) of about 3h45, with promotional fares from 8 € and a normal price around 25-31 €; there are also direct long-distance coaches, slower but with no change. If the plan is to land or step off the train in Santiago and go up to Sarria from here, the high-speed trains, coaches and flights are in [how to get to Santiago de Compostela](https://santiago.es/en/getting-there). And if the connection your app offers depends on a rural bus, check it twice: [getting to the starting point](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/getting-to-the-start) collects the traps of that last leg, starting with the lines that only run Monday to Friday.

The Camino leaves from the upper part of Sarria's old town, beside the **Monastery of La Magdalena** (13th century, of the Order of Mercy, with Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque elements) and the church of Santa Mariña. From there you go down the Sarria steps and cross the medieval Áspera bridge towards Barbadelo. The first stamp in your credential comes from your own accommodation, the tourist office or any bar in the old town: you will not have to look hard.

The rule you cannot skip

The Compostela requires a **minimum of two stamps a day** over these last 100 km. The normal pattern is to stamp halfway through the stage — at a bar or a hostel you pass — and again on arrival. Always carry the credential on you: the office spot-checks that the dates and stamps match the itinerary you declare.

## The five stages at a glance

**Summary of the five Sarria–Santiago stages**

| Stage | Distance | Approx. time | Elevation | Difficulty |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sarria → Portomarín | 22.2 km | ~5 h | +398 / −457 m | 2/5 |
| Portomarín → Palas de Rei | 24.8 km | 5h45-6h30 | +519 / −353 m | 2/5 |
| Palas de Rei → Arzúa | 28.5 km | ~6h45 | +491 / −653 m | 3/5 |
| Arzúa → O Pedrouzo | 19.3 km | ~4h30 | +351 / −447 m | 2/5 |
| O Pedrouzo → Santiago | 19.4 km | ~4h30 | +318 / −345 m | 2/5 |
| Total | 114.2 km | 5 days | — | — |

This five-day split is the classic one, but not the only one possible. If your days are not five, the split changes: [in six stages](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/planner/from-sarria-in-6-stages) the longest day drops to 22.3 km, and [in seven](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/planner/from-sarria-in-7-stages) no day goes past 20 kilometres.

## Where the 100 km marker actually stands

There is a common mix-up about this: the famous stone marker carved with the shell and the yellow arrow **is not in Casanova** — there is a village by that name, but it belongs to the Palas de Rei–Arzúa stage, further on. The real 100 km marker is on the **first stage, Sarria–Portomarín**, in the Ferreiros and A Pena area (parish of Paradela), between kilometres 12 and 14 out of Sarria. It is the classic photo stop of the Camino: a queue of pilgrims waiting their turn to sit on the stone.

## Why it gets so crowded (and how to dodge it)

This stretch concentrates everyone who only has a week, so in high season — summer, Holy Week — the Xunta's public hostels, which take no bookings and are handed out in order of arrival, fill by mid-morning and leave whoever turns up late [without a bed](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/beds). The advice repeated on every stage is the same: **leave before 7:30-8:00** if you want a bed for certain, especially before Portomarín, Palas de Rei and O Pedrouzo. From Melide onwards the numbers step up again, because the pilgrims arriving on the Camino Primitivo join in.

And if what you want is a final stretch with fewer people and the same Compostela, there are two five-to-six-day alternatives that meet the 100 km minimum: [the Portugués from Tui](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/stages-tui-santiago) (116 km, flatter) and [the Inglés from Ferrol](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/english-way) (111.5 km, the quietest of the three).

## Frequently asked questions

**How many days does it take from Sarria to Santiago?**

With the classic five-stage split it takes five walking days. You can compress it into four by lengthening one stage, or spread it over six by breaking the stretch at Santa Irene, near O Pedrouzo.

**Do I need to book a hostel?**

The Xunta's public hostels (around 10 € a night) take no bookings: they are handed out in order of arrival. Private ones can be booked and it is worth doing so in July and August or at Easter, when the stretch fills up.

**Where exactly is the 100 km marker?**

On the first stage, between Sarria and Portomarín, in the Ferreiros and A Pena area, between km 12 and 14 from the start. It is not in Casanova, a different village you cross three stages later.

**How much does each walking day cost?**

Counting a public hostel (10 €), simple meals and the odd bar along the way, 25 to 35 € a day is realistic, which is the range we use throughout the guide. With a private hostel or guesthouse and eating à la carte it goes to 55-90 €. Guide prices for 2026.

**Can it be done in four days instead of five?**

Yes, though it asks for decent fitness: it is usually done by joining Sarria–Palas de Rei on the first day (longer) or by stretching the last day to Santiago from Arzúa. Most people prefer the five-stage split for comfort.

The five stages

**[Sarria → Portomarín](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/stages-sarria-santiago/sarria-portomarin)** — Stage 1 — 22.2 km to a village moved stone by stone in 1963. The 100 km marker is on this stage. — Leer la guía

**[Portomarín → Palas de Rei](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/stages-sarria-santiago/portomarin-palas-de-rei)** — Stage 2 — 24.8 km with the hardest climb of the stretch: the Alto de Ligonde, at 725 metres. — Leer la guía

**[Palas de Rei → Arzúa](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/stages-sarria-santiago/palas-de-rei-arzua)** — Stage 3 — 28.5 km, the longest and most demanding day. It goes through Melide and its legendary octopus. — Leer la guía

**[Arzúa → O Pedrouzo](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/stages-sarria-santiago/arzua-o-pedrouzo)** — Stage 4 — 19.3 km through eucalyptus woods, comfortable, with Santa Irene as an optional stop. — Leer la guía

**[O Pedrouzo → Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/camino-de-santiago/stages-sarria-santiago/o-pedrouzo-santiago)** — Stage 5 — 19.4 km to the Obradoiro, passing Lavacolla and Monte do Gozo on the way. — Leer la guía