Galicia: Sea to Mountain Hiking
Galicia: Sea to Mountain Hiking
Join Jose and Nancy on this definitive insider’s tour of Galicia’s breathtaking coastal and mountainous back roads. Enjoy the isolated coastal walks, abundant and varied seafood, remote mountain villages, and pre-Roman remains!
We meet and end in Galicia’s capital, Santiago de Compostela, the famed endpoint of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, as an entry point into this extraordinary green, hilly corner of Spain. On Days 2-4 we explore the breathtaking Costa da Morte (Death Coast) and spend 3 days walking the highlights of the spectacular coastal trail O Camiño dos Faros (The Lighthouse Way). This trail connects the villages and lighthouses from Malpica to Finisterre for roughly 200km.
The Galician coast is characterized by long stretches of white sand beach, pine forest, small fishing villages, high cliffs, off-shore islands, pounding waves and fascinating legends and history. On Days 5-8, we transition to the region’s extreme eastern mountains to the Sierras of Ancares and Courel. En route we stop and walk the Roman’s Empire’s finest wall still standing in the UNESCO awarded World Heritage city of Lugo. In the mountains we will hike on high open ridges, through densely wooded river paths and visit and learn about villages (and their traditions) that have one foot in the pre-modern past and the other in the present.
On the tour also expect to savor the delicious seafood and shellfish prepared with simplicity and extraordinary good taste, a wide assortment of rich crusty breads and smoked, smooth and creamy cow´s milk cheeses as well as spring fed and mountain raised beef and pork stewed and roasted to perfection. On this tour accommodations are varied, well-situated and unique though not luxurious.
The region’s geography has historically imposed isolation upon Galicia leading to its singular character today: a well-conserved prehistoric past (petroglyphs, dolmens, and castros), a high dispersion of the population (of the 63,000 communities in Spain more than half are Galician but only account for 6% of Spanish territory), the development of an unique language - Gallego, an economy based primarily on the exploitation of the sea and soil, an original vernacular architecture (country mansions, roadside crosses, granaries, monasteries) and an endless number of legends, fiestas and traditions uniquely Galician.
Read the article Nancy wrote about Galicia for the travel magazine Roads & Kingdoms here.
Tour Duration: 8 days & 8 nights
Level: Medium to Medium Hard. We will be walking and hiking from 3.3mi/5.5km to 9.6mi/15.5km (with optional walks to a max of 11.8mi/19.2km) on a daily basis. Galicia is a mountainous region and we will be making numerous ascents and descents on a wide variety of terrains including forest track, sandy beach, and irregular mountain trails with rocky terrain. Walking poles are highly recommended for this tour.
Walking Days: 8
Total Distance: 54.4miles/87.8km With optionals: 59.5 miles / 96.1 km
Tour Start/End Point: Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The Santiago de Compostela airport (SCQ) is located conveniently to the city center. Daily direct flights are available from Madrid (MAD) and many European hubs.
Group size: For logistical reasons, this tour is limited to a maximum of 7 participants.
Tour Price: TBA
Single Supplement: TBA
Weather: In June some rain showers during the week are likely and temperatures range from 15-23C/60-75F. In July and August expect sunny weather from 60-80F/15-30C with a chance of showers some time during the week and fog along the coast.
Groups: If you have a group of four (4) or more and the dates are not available when you would like to travel, contact us and we can try and schedule a tour adapted to your dates.
Tour Dates: This tour will not be offered in 2023. Please send inquiries for 2024 and requests for private group trips to info@onfootinspain.com
What is and isn’t included:
Trip price includes accommodations (double occupancy), all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) each day (except one lunch and one dinner), all entry fees, pre-departure information, experienced guides, support vehicle, all transportation during the trip.
Tour does not include: Airfare to Spain is no included nor is required health/travel insurance or transportation to and from the starting and end point (Santiago de Compostela, Spain). Personal amenities such as drinks and snacks at end of walks or in free time are not included.
Single Supplement: TBA
Daily Itinerary
Day 1 – Santiago de Compostela
After a brief introduction to the tour, we'll take a walking tour through the magnificent Romanesque and Baroque Cathedral, the medieval quarter and then through the Museo do Pobo Galego (the Museum of the Galician People). We'll also offer an optional ascent to nearby Monte Pedroso which affords beautiful views of the city and its surrounding valleys and hills.
At dinner tonight expect to enjoy your first sampling of Galicia´s specialties, such as pulpo (octupus), steamed mussels, clams in fisherman´s sauce, empanada (stuffed bread), razorshells, green peppers from Padron, tortilla español (potato pancake), and more...Walking Distance: 2.8 miles / 4.5 km With optional 5.9 miles / 9.5 km.
Day 2 - Laxe
Costa da MorteWe leave Santiago and head northwest to the Costa da Morte and the small fishing village of Malpica, once an active whaling port due to its unique location on the high, rocky shore. From the village we initiate the spectacular Camiño dos Faros (Lighthouse Way) and walk along the grassy headlands enjoying spectacular views of the offshore Sisagras Islands and aquamarine waters that bathe the numerous white sand beaches. We will enjoy a picnic en route.
En route to our hotel we will stop at two archaeological sites – the megalithic Dolmen de Dombate (burial chamber) dating from 3800-2700BC and the Iron Age pre-Roman village, Castro de Borneiro. We spend the next two nights in the coastal village of Laxe to enjoy its beautiful beach and active port. We dine together tonight enjoying the wealth of the sea.
Walking Distance: 8.7 miles / 14 km.
Day 3 - Laxe
We continue the Lighthouse Way on foot from our accommodation and leave Laxe first passing its lighthouse and then we maintain the ocean on our right side, sometimes within feet of us, the rest of the way. Reaching the long, pristine white-sand Traba Beach, we’ll picnic and continue along fisherman’s trails. Only 50 years ago they were used by milkmaids carrying the daily load on their heads between Laxe and Camelle. Our day’s walk destination is the fishing village of Camelle, home to one of the Death Coast´s most eccentric individuals - Man, the Aleman. Unfortunately, Man died in 2002 but his bizarre open-air museum still stands. We’ll picnic en route.
From Camelle we shuttle along the coast observing the abrupt and dangerous rocky outcroppings off-shore that are responsible for many of the area’s most dramatic shipwrecks. The track passes the English Cemetery where in 1890 the English vessel the Serpent went down with all 175 hands except three. We’ll also pass the Monte Branco (White Mount) so named because its sides are made from the sand blown up the hill during the fierce winter winds. Finally we reach the stately lighthouse of Cape Vilano. The adjacent islands are home to numerous rare and endangered sea birds.
En route back to the hotel we will stop at the medieval castle of Vimianzo where local artisans have set up a crafts faire to demonstrate the production of the region’s handicrafts: wooden shoes, baskets, ceramics, silver and jet jewelry, linen, stone carving, lace and leather crafts. Dinner on your own in Laxe.
Walking Distance: 9.6 miles / 15.5 km
Day 4 - Finisterre
From Laxe we shuttle to the isolated port of Lires to start our last section of Lighthouse Way and that takes us to Finisterre. Today we ascend a succession of high hills and look down upon the ocean from the cliffs and then cross majestic open beaches before ascending again to our picnic site. From there you have the option of shuttle to Finisterre or walking to the hotel on foot enjoying the spectacular entry as Cape Finisterre opens up in front of you.
Finisterre is Spain´s historical land´s end and a great attraction point for contemporary pilgrims doing the Camino de Santiago as a final endpoint. After free time we will visit Finisterre and its Sea Museumand then dine in small local restaurant specializing in the locally caught seafood. After dinner we head to the Finisterre lighthouse, the Lighthouse Way’s last, for the sunset.
Walking Distance: 8.8 miles / 14.2 km With Optional included 11.8 miles/ 19.2km
Day 5 - Piornedo
Today is a transition day from sea to mountain. From Finisterre we´ll shuttle to Muxía and the enchanting Our Lady of the Boat Sanctuary located on the edge of the sea. We then continue and stop at a lovely picnic area set along an old mill-run. Saying goodbye to the coast we head inland to the eastern sierras stopping for lunch in Betanzos, a lovely riverside town that maintains its medieval urban plan. Lunch is on your own in Betanzos.
Our shuttle continues and we stop for coffee in Lugo and take the unique opportunity of circumnavigating the city along the top of its still intact 2nd century AD Roman wall, named in 2000 a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our shuttle continues from Lugo into the mountains and the remote villages of the Ancares to our final stop in Piornedo. We enjoy dinner at our lodge tonight.
Walking Distance: 3.3 miles / 5.5 km
Day 6 - Piornedo
Today’s inspiring loop explores the Ancares Ridge around its most emblematic peaks offering unbeatable views. We’ll share the mountain walk with local bovine, roe deer and the path will be dotted with dozens of different wildflowers. We return to Piornedo, called the pre-Roman hamlet, where only a generation ago its inhabitants lived in pallozas, circular stone-based dwellings with thatch roofs divided internally with space for both the human and animal occupants. We will visit a palloza museum, discuss the mountain culture and then dine on interior Galicia’s hearty cuisine.
Walking Distance: 8.9 miles / 14.4 km
Day 7 - VilamorLor River’s serpentine twists
We head south to the next most important range, O Courel, and enter the steep Devesa da Rogueira forest, the only one of its type in Galicia that is a mix of both Atlantic and Mediterranean ecosystems due to its unusual geographic and climatic conditions. As a result the forest is home to a vast range of plant and animal species. We’ll picnic at a unique spring, famed for its medicinal properties, with two distinct water outlets from the same rock but with a distinct odor, color and taste. . One is iron based and the other limestone. We hike back down through the beautiful enclosed forest enjoy a wide range of habitats.
Tonight we lodge in a casa rural, a rustic home converted into charming lodging in the heart of unforgettably rustic Vilamor which sits high above the Lor River.
Walking Distance: 4.5mi/7.2km With Optional included 6.5mi/10.5km
Day 8 - Santiago de Compostela
The last day we set out from our accommodation and head down an ancient path used by villagers following the Lor River’s serpentine twists. We'll linger in chestnut forests, reach mountain hamlets, cross over home-fashioned wooden bridges, continue through narrow canyons and even head to the ruins of a castro, a pre-Roman village strategically located high on a rocky outcropping surrounded on three sides by the Lor River. Return to Santiago via Monforte de Lemos where we’ll stop for a coffee. Farewell dinner in the historical quarter.
Walking Distance: 4.7 km / 7.5 miles.
