Camino dos Faros

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Malpica de Bergantiños → Cabo Fisterra
• Length: 198.9 km
• Elevation gain: approx. ↗ 5,000 m / ↘ 5,000 m
• Duration: 7–9 days (8 official stages)
• Waymarking: green arrows and dots, plus the Trasno's footprints; green X = wrong direction
• Status: NOT an official Way of St. James — a coastal hiking trail beloved by pilgrims as an extension of the route
• Character: A rugged cliff trail along the Costa da Morte — sure-footedness and a head for heights are required

Overview

The Camiño dos Faros is what happens when you have walked the Camino to its end and still cannot stop: 198.9 kilometres of wild Atlantic coast from Malpica to Fisterra, always on the edge between land and sea, from lighthouse to lighthouse along the Costa da Morte — the Coast of Death, which owes its name to centuries of shipwrecks. Not a hamlet without a cliff path, not a day without a beach, and above it all the founders’ motto: a different landscape with every step.

One thing up front, because it belongs to this route like the wind: the Camiño dos Faros is not an official Camino de Santiago. It does not lead to Santiago, there is no Compostela and no pilgrim-passport requirement — but there is perhaps the most spectacular coastline in Spain and, at the end, the same cape where pilgrims have looked out to sea for centuries. If you still have a week left after arriving in Santiago and want to hear the ocean, this is the finest encore Galicia has to offer.

Other Names

In Galician, the trail is called O Camiño dos Faros, in Spanish Camino de los Faros, in English The Lighthouse Way, in German usually Leuchtturmweg — all these names mean the same chain of lighthouses that this route works its way along from Malpica to Fisterra. There is only one name it never carries: Camino de Santiago. Despite its destination of Fisterra, this is not an official Camino, but a coastal hiking route — the church does not count these kilometres, and that is exactly what is honestly stated everywhere here.

Who It's Ideal For — and Who It's Not So Ideal For

This trail is perfect for you if you want to not only see the sea but also hear it for eight days. The founders’ rule was simple: always stay as close to the water as possible—the result is trails used by fishermen and percebes gatherers along the cliff’s edge, beaches as part of the route, and lighthouses as waypoints. Anyone familiar with longer tours, who knows how to use the Camino Ninja app, and can manage a day without a café will be happy here—especially as a bonus after the Camiño a Fisterra or Camiño a Muxía: You'll already know the coast by then. But not like this.

To be honest, this isn’t for you if you’re looking for a network of albergues, fellow pilgrims in the evening, and a Compostela at the end—none of that is available here. Instead, there are about 5,000 meters of elevation gain spread over eight stages ranging from 18 to 32.6 kilometers (club estimate: 7.5 to 10 hours per day), boulder fields where you’ll need to use your hands, and unsecured passages right on the edge: Sure-footedness and a head for heights are not just recommended—they are requirements. During a storm, exposed sections are simply dangerous, and help is far away—that's why everyone here advises against going alone.

Route & Landscape

The tour begins at the fishing port of Malpica, the Illas Sisargas right under your nose — and on the very first day, you'll find yourself at the Faro de Punta Nariga, which César Portela carved into the rock in 1995 to resemble a ship's bow. After that, cliffs and coves alternate until the Ría do Anllóns near Ponteceso forces the route inland for once — one of only two places where the sea briefly drops out of the picture. Beyond Laxe and the lonely beaches at Arou and Camelle comes the wild heart: Praia do Trece behind its shifting dunes, the cliff edge above Punta do Boi with the Cementerio de los Ingleses — and above it, since 1896, the Faro de Cabo Vilán.

From Camariñas the longest stage runs around the ría to Muxía, where the trail encounters the legend of the stone boat and, with “A Ferida,” the most recent wound on this coast. Then things get serious again: The section through Cabo Touriñán, the westernmost point of mainland Spain, is considered the most technically challenging part of the entire route. The final day winds across the vast Praia do Rostro, with Monte Pindo as a backdrop, to the lighthouse at Cabo Fisterra — the place the Romans believed to be the end of the world. The founding motto, “a different landscape with every step,” is not just a marketing slogan, but a description: cliffs, dunes, eucalyptus trees, fishing villages, and a megalithic tomb dating back to the 4th millennium B.C.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

The association divides the route into eight official stages — and these are designed to be challenging, as envisioned by the Trasnos themselves, with 7.5 to 10 hours of walking per day. Many people therefore stretch the hike out to ten days, and that’s not a sign of weakness, but rather careful planning: Shorter stretches leave time for lighthouses, the Cementerio de los Ingleses, and lunch at the harbor. Experienced hikers can do it in seven. Use the list as a guide, not a rule—you’ll have to adapt to the weather anyway.

1. Malpica → Niñóns (21.2 km) — Faro de Punta Nariga, Illas Sisargas, six beaches
2. Niñóns → Ponteceso (27.1 km) — Cliffs, Ría do Anllóns, dunes; according to the club, the toughest of the early stages
3. Ponteceso → Laxe (25.3 km) — Dolmen de Dombate, Monte Castelo 312 m — highest point of the trail
4. Laxe → Arou (18.0 km) — the shortest and easiest stage
5. Arou → Camariñas (23.8 km) — Praia do Trece, Cementerio de los Ingleses, Faro de Cabo Vilán
6. Camariñas → Muxía (32.6 km) — longest stage, little elevation gain, Ría de Camariñas, arrival at Punta da Barca
7. Muxía → Nemiña (25.3 km) — Cabo Touriñán, the westernmost point of mainland Spain; the most technically challenging section
8. Nemiña → Cabo Fisterra (26.9 km) — With a view of Monte Pindo, Praia do Rostro, finish at the lighthouse

Six hikers, two dogs, a goblin: the trail that created itself

On 7 December 2012 six friends and two dogs set out from Malpica with a single premise: connect Malpica with Fisterra, always along the edge of the sea. They called themselves Trasnos — after the mischievous goblin of Galician mythology — and by 26 January 2013 they had found the continuous line: fishermen’s paths, percebes-gatherers’ tracks, dune crossings, knotted together into a route that simply had not existed before. In April 2013, 23 people walked the first public stage; soon there were more than five hundred. Since 21 December 2013 a non-profit association has watched over the route, so that it stays “as the Trasnos designed it”.

That is exactly where its character lies: the Camiño dos Faros is a camino indómito — an untameable way. To this day it is not a certified GR trail, its green arrows and Trasno footprints are the handiwork of volunteers, and most recently the authorities demanded fifteen route changes whose outcome is still open. Whoever walks it walks a route that grew from below and is defended from below — you feel that at every hand-painted diversion.

And the St James thread? It runs right through the middle. In Muxía the route reaches the Santuario da Virxe da Barca — the rocky spur where, according to tradition, Mary appeared to the Apostle James in a stone boat to console him after his fruitless preaching; sail, hull and rudder still lie on the shore today as Pedra de Abalar, Pedra dos Cadrís and Pedra do Timón. And at the end waits Cabo Fisterra, the finis terrae of the Romans, with the Celtic sun altar Ara Solis at its back. So: no Camino de Santiago — but a route that connects two of the strongest places in the whole world of St James, only from the seaward side.

Highlights Along the Way

• Faro de Punta Nariga — Built in 1995 by César Portela to resemble a ship’s bow, crowned by the bronze “Atlante”: half human, half soaring seagull.
• Illas Sisargas — the archipelago off Malpica, one of Galicia’s most important seabird colonies, and your companion for the whole first stage.
• Dolmen de Dombate and Monte Castelo — a megalithic tomb dating from the 4th–3rd millennium B.C., and at 312 meters, the highest point of the entire trail. That’s the only climb on this route—just two hundred times.
• Praia do Trece — a beach hidden behind shifting sand dunes, accessible only to hikers and fishermen, marking the start of the wildest stretch of cliffs along the route.
• Cementerio de los Ingleses — The cemetery at Punta do Boi: 172 sailors from the HMS Serpent, which sank in 1890, are buried here; only three of the 176 crew members survived. The grateful Admiralty presented Camariñas with a barometer.
• Faro de Cabo Vilán — Spain's first electric lighthouse, built in 1896; a 25-meter tower atop a 100-meter rock, with a range of 40 nautical miles. Built in response to the Serpent.
• Camariñas and the Encaixe — bobbin lace since the 16th century; more than 2,000 “palilleiras” keep it alive, and since 1991 it has had its own Mostra do Encaixe during Holy Week.
• Cabo Fisterra — the lighthouse of 1853, Monte Facho with its memory of the sun altar Ara Solis, and the cape that to this day is called finis terrae.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

Most of them arrive in a very particular mood: in Santiago they finished the Camiño a Fisterra or the Camiño a Muxía, stood at the lighthouse, watched the sun vanish into the sea — and did not want to get on the bus. That is exactly what the Camiño dos Faros is for. You can walk it backwards from Fisterra to Malpica, or in the official direction, with Fisterra as a second end of the world, this time reached on foot. Anyone who knows the loop of the Camiño a Fisterra-Muxía quickly notices how much coast was still missing between the two places.

The starting point Malpica lies around 55 kilometres west of A Coruña — and there is no direct connection: by bus you always change in Carballo (with Arriva from A Coruña, via bus.gal from Santiago), or take a taxi/transfer from either airport. Plan half a day for the journey and spend the first night in Malpica — the route starts right at the harbour, and the first stage is long enough.

Continue the pilgrimage?

In Fisterra you finish where the Camino ends for many pilgrims — only from the other side. If you have days to spare, turn the tables: on the Camiño a Fisterra back towards Santiago (89 km via Cee and Negreira, waymarked, with a hostel network and the Fisterrana), or across to Muxía and on the Camiño a Muxía (87 km). Both are joined by the Camiño a Fisterra-Muxía via Olveiroa — 118.8 or 119.9 kilometres, depending on the direction.

And here is where the truth belongs: for the Camiño dos Faros itself there is no Compostela — it does not lead to Santiago, the church does not count its kilometres. Only in Santiago, for instance via the Camino Francés or back along the coastal routes, does the journey become a recognised pilgrimage. Many do it in exactly that order: first the Francés, then the coast, then the Camiño dos Faros as an encore — and quite a few remember the encore longest.

Preparation & Practical Information

The best times are late spring and early fall: The broom blooms in May and June, and in September the air is clear and the coast is deserted. Midsummer brings heat to the shade-less cliffs, and winter brings storms that make exposed stretches no fun at all — check the weather before every stage; here that is a safety matter, not a comfort matter. Be realistic in your preparations: about 5,000 meters of elevation gain in eight days; two months of training with a packed backpack is a common recommendation; well-broken-in, waterproof shoes are a must; and long pants protect against gorse and thorns.

The trail is marked with green arrows and dots and the footprints of the Trasno; a green X means “wrong.” Don’t rely on that alone—the green disappears against the rock and broom, Camino Ninja app and offline maps are standard features here. Accommodations include guesthouses, small hotels, and casas rurales; pilgrim hostels are found almost exclusively in Muxía and Fisterra. Wild camping is prohibited (the entire route is a Natura 2000 area), and water fountains are rare—be sure to bring two bottles. And don’t go alone: there are long stretches with no people and no cell service.

A pilgrim’s passport is not required here — no official Camino de Santiago, no stamping duty, the accommodations do not ask for it. It is still worth having if you go on officially afterwards: for the public hostels and for the Fisterrana, Muxiana or Compostela it is the basis. More important than any document is the planning anyway — without a hostel network you have to fix your beds in advance, especially in summer; the easiest way is directly in the Camino Ninja app, where you put your stages together and plan matching accommodation at the same time.

What the journey will cost you

The Camiño dos Faros is more expensive than a traditional Camino because it lacks affordable hostels: A double room in a guesthouse or casa rural on the Costa da Morte usually costs 50 to 70 € per night, and a single room rarely costs less than 40 €. For food, expect to spend 20 to 30 € per day—a menú del día in the fishing villages costs between 13 and 16 €. Realistically, you’ll end up spending 60 to 90 € per person per day, two people at the lower end, one person at the upper end—roughly €500 to €750 for the entire trip, plus travel to and from the destination. And be sure to bring at least €80 in cash: ATMs are as rare as fountains along the way (as of August 2026).

Getting There

The trail begins in Malpica on the northern coast of the Costa da Morte and ends at the lighthouse at Cabo Fisterra, a good three kilometers past the town. You can reach both ends by public transportation, but never quite directly: There is no direct route to Malpica from the airports in A Coruña and Santiago, and from Fisterra, the route first takes you back to Santiago.

And first things first: There are no buses running between the stage locations. If you need to take a shortcut or cut your trip short, take a taxi—it’s affordable for short distances, but you’ll want to plan ahead. Plan to spend half a day to a full day on the trip and spend your first night in Malpica.

• Getting to Malpica: From A Coruña with Arriva (arriva.gal) to Carballo, then transfer there to Malpica; from Santiago via bus.gal, also via Carballo. Alternatively, take a taxi or shuttle from the airport in A Coruña or Santiago.
• Return trip from Fisterra: With Monbus (monbus.es) directly to Santiago; from there, take a train or bus to A Coruña, Madrid, and the airports. The same line serves Muxía.
• Intermediate entry: Ponteceso, Laxe, Camariñas, and Muxía can be reached by bus via Carballo or Santiago. The only way to get between the stage towns themselves is by taxi.

The Asociación O Camiño dos Faros is responsible for maintaining the trail and its markings: caminodosfaros.com.