Sanabrés via Verín

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: A Gudiña (turnoff from the Camino Sanabrés) / Pereiras, a good 10 km before Ourense, where the variant rejoins the Sanabrés
• Length: 109.1 km; from Verín, where the Camino Portugués Interior merges in, 68.4 km remain
• Duration: 6 stages; many walk the last two as a single day from Xinzo or Allariz to Ourense
• Elevation: ↗ 1,608 m / ↘ 2,234 m
• Highest point: 971 m at km 0.0 in A Gudiña; the next highs are A Trepa (937 m, km 27.3) and Penaverde (830 m, km 57.5)
• Landscape: pine and chestnut slopes around Riós, the wine valley of the Támega, the ruler-straight potato plain of A Limia, oak woods in the Arnoia valley
• Operator / Waymarking: Galician waymarker stones and yellow arrows, Xunta de Galicia albergues; according to pilgrim reports, less densely marked than the route via Laza
• Traces of St. James: pilgrim hospitals in Verín, Monterrei and Allariz, the Church of Santiago in Allariz, a scallop shell on the portal of Xinzo's old church, the martyr's sanctuary of Augas Santas
• Accommodation: Xunta albergues in A Gudiña, Verín, Vila de Rei, Xinzo de Limia and Sandiás; in As Vendas da Barreira and Allariz only hostales and guesthouses
• Connecting routes: Camino Sanabrés at A Gudiña and Pereiras, Camino Portugués Interior at Verín
• Best time: April to June and September to October; in high summer, hot and shadeless across A Limia

Overview

The Sanabrés via Verín is two routes in one. For pilgrims on the Camino Sanabrés, it is the southern option on the edge of A Gudiña: instead of crossing the mountains to Laza, you drop into the Támega valley, through the Monterrei wine country, across the A Limia plain and through Allariz, until both routes meet again in Pereiras outside Ourense. For pilgrims on the Camino Portugués Interior, it is simply the way to Santiago: they cross the border from Chaves and pick up the second half of this variant in Verín.

Culturally, the southern variant is the richer side. Above Verín stands the fortress of Monterrei, where Galicia's first book was printed in 1494; past Xinzo you walk across the bed of a lake that was drained in 1958, and Allariz won the European Urban Planning Prize for its old town in 1994. The price is time: depending on how you count, it is 20 to 30 kilometers longer than the route via Laza. Honestly, that's why most walking pilgrims turn north in A Gudiña—and why you'll often have the road to Verín to yourself.

Other Names

Spanish guidebooks write Variante por Verín or Vía de la Plata por Verín; in Galician it is the Variante de Verín of the Camiño Sanabrés. Because the Sanabrés counts as the Galician branch of the Vía de la Plata, you'll also see Camino del Sudeste or simply Vía de la Plata. In Gronze's stage list the variant carries a V after the number, from 1V to 6V. On the Camino Ninja map it is called Sanabrés via Verín.

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

Ideal if, on the Sanabrés, you'd rather see castles, churches and old towns than mountain ridges: Monterrei, Verín, Xinzo and Allariz all lie on the route, and the towns are bigger and better supplied than the villages on the Laza side. Ideal if you're coming from Portugal, because then the question doesn't even arise. And ideal by bike, since much of it runs on tracks and minor roads.

Honestly, though, it's not for you if you want little asphalt: between Xinzo and Vilariño das Poldras you walk beside a dangerous highway, before Verín for a long stretch on the old N-525, and the viaducts of the freeway and the high-speed railway keep you company for the first two days. Not for you if long straights wear you down: the A Limia plain is a grid of potato fields, and Gronze speaks of "interminables rectas entre sembrados de patatas" (endless straights between potato fields). And not for you if you need an albergue every night: As Vendas da Barreira and Allariz have none, only hostales and guesthouses.

Route & Landscape

A Gudiña to Verín (km 0–40.7): From A Gudiña at 971 meters, the route rolls up and down over eroded hills of pine and heather to As Vendas da Barreira (km 18.9), again and again passing under the piers of the freeway and the high-speed line. After that it gets lovelier: through the municipality of Riós and its villages Sarreaus, Mirós and A Trepa (937 m, km 27.3), in places on the European Chestnut Route, to Fumaces (km 29.4). Then comes the long descent through pine forests that have burned more than once, via Ábedes (km 38.5) into the Támega valley to Verín (km 40.7); Chaves in Portugal lies only about 15 kilometers south.

Verín to Pereiras (km 40.7–109.1): Right after Verín you climb the castle hill of Monterrei (km 42.4), walk through vineyards via Albarellos and Infesta, and at Rebordondo and Penaverde (830 m, km 57.5) cross the small range at Alto das Estibadas—the watershed between the Támega and the Limia, both of which flow into Portugal. Beyond Vila de Rei (km 61.6) begins the plain of A Limia, the former lakebed, via Trasmiras and Zos to Xinzo de Limia (km 77.1). Past Sandiás (km 85.6) and Torneiros it turns green: in the Arnoia valley, old paths run through oak woods to Allariz (km 97.7). The last kilometers lead via Santa Mariña de Augas Santas (km 105.0) and Outeiro de Laxe down to Pereiras (km 109.1), where the Laza route joins again.

Stages, Terrain, and Difficulty

We show the route in 6 stages, based on Gronze's 1V to 6V breakdown. Distances come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to 109.1 km. The map ends in Pereiras; you walk the roughly 10 kilometers to Ourense on the Camino Sanabrés, which is why most people combine the last stage with the walk into the city.

1. A Gudiña → As Vendas da Barreira (18.9 km) — hilly, lots of pine and heather, always within sight of the viaducts; only a hostal at the finish.
2. As Vendas da Barreira → Verín (21.8 km) — first through the lovely forest villages of Riós to Fumaces, then a long descent on the old N-525 into the Támega valley.
3. Verín → Vila de Rei (20.9 km) — the toughest day: Monterrei's castle hill, vineyards, a climb to around 830 m at Penaverde, albergue in Vila de Rei (Viladerrei).
4. Vila de Rei → Xinzo de Limia (15.5 km) — flat and straight across the bed of the Lagoa de Antela, the easiest day.
5. Xinzo de Limia → Allariz (20.6 km) — highway first, as far as Vilariño das Poldras and Sandiás, then one of the most beautiful sections in the Arnoia valley.
6. Allariz → Pereiras (11.4 km) — via Augas Santas and Outeiro de Laxe to the reunion with the Laza route; Ourense is a good two hours from here.

Technically, nothing is difficult. The climbing comes mainly on the third stage, where Gronze counts 585 meters of ascent; otherwise downhill dominates, 2,234 meters of descent in total. What makes it hard is the asphalt, the summer heat in A Limia, which Gronze compares to Extremadura, and the sometimes sparse waymarking. If you don't want to end the first stage in As Vendas da Barreira, walk the 40.7 kilometers to Verín in one day—long, but doable, since it is mostly downhill.

There's a Lake Under the Potatoes

Between Vila de Rei and Xinzo you walk across a lakebed. The Lagoa de Antela was about seven kilometers long and six wide, only 60 centimeters deep on average, and one of the largest wetlands on the Iberian Peninsula. In December 1956 the Franco government approved draining it, and work began in 1958; the main canal follows a line along which the Romans had already tried to divert the water. Today the potatoes of A Limia grow here, and the paths run on the grid of land consolidation. One of the peninsula's largest wetlands became a field.

The legend is older than the canal. On the bottom of the lake lies the city of Antioquía, they say, sunk as punishment for idolatry; the ethnographer Vicente Risco noted that on certain nights locals heard bells ringing and roosters crowing—underwater. And the river that rises here has a story of its own: the Romans took the Limia for the Lethe, the river of forgetting. Anyone who crossed it, the soldiers believed, would lose their memory. In 138 BC the general Decimus Iunius Brutus rode across first and called each of his men by name from the far bank. Ever since, we've known: whoever crosses the Limia still remembers—and that is exactly the idea of a pilgrimage.

In practice, that means: plan the fourth day as a short one and set off early, because there's no shade on the plain. In Xinzo, take a look at the old parish church, whose portal from 1516 bears a scallop shell on its capital; from the hill of the 16th-century Franciscan monastery of O Bon Xesús de Trandeiras you overlook the whole expanse under which Antioquía is said to lie. In February, Xinzo celebrates its Entroido with the Pantallas, masks with ox bladders—the counterpart to the Cigarróns of Verín.

Monterrei: Castle, Hospital, and Galicia's First Printed Book

The fortress of Monterrei, on its hill above Verín, was the border castle facing Portugal. The Torre das Damas dates from the late 13th or early 14th century; the 22-meter keep bears its date in Galician-Portuguese script: "mil e CCCC e LXXX e II anos" (one thousand, four hundred, eighty and two years), the year 1482. Since June 3, 1931, the complex has been a national monument. For pilgrims, another date matters: in 1391, Abbot Vasco Pérez founded the Hospital da Trindade here, possibly as successor to a house from 1327—according to Xacopedia, the most important pilgrim hospice on this route in Galicia. The portal showing Christ between the symbols of the four Evangelists still stands.

On February 3, 1494, the Missale Auriense was printed in Monterrei, the first book to come off a printing press in Galicia. And a son of the castle carried its name across the Atlantic: Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo, born in Monterrei in 1560, became Viceroy of New Spain; his title as count gave its name to the city of Monterrey in Mexico, founded in 1596, and to Monterey Bay in California, named by Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602. A plan to turn the castle into a parador was approved in 2014 and struck down by the Supreme Court in 2016; the Parador de Verín is a separate building.

Highlights Along the Way

• A Gudiña (km 0.0) — mountain town at 971 meters and the fork of the Sanabrés: north via Laza, south via Verín.
• Riós and A Trepa (km 23–27) — granite villages among chestnuts, the loveliest wooded stretch of the first two days.
• Verín (km 40.7) — spa town with the springs of Cabreiroá, Sousas and Fontenova, the Monterrei wine region and the Entroido with its Cigarróns; the albergue is in the Casa do Escudo, the baroque coat-of-arms house from 1734 where the administrator of the San Lázaro pilgrim hospital lived. In 1506, Philip the Handsome met Cardinal Cisneros here.
• Monterrei (km 42.4) — border fortress with a keep from 1482, a pilgrim hospital from 1391 and the press that printed the first Galician book.
• Lagoa de Antela (km 61–77) — the drained lake beneath the fields of A Limia, with the legend of the sunken city of Antioquía.
• Xinzo de Limia (km 77.1) — the old parish church's portal from 1516 with its scallop shell, Xunta albergue since 2017.
• Allariz (km 97.7) — old town on the Arnoia with the Church of Santiago, which traces back to a founding under Alfonso VI at the end of the 11th century, Queen Violante's Poor Clares convent from 1268 and the former Jewish quarter; the young Alfonso X learned Galician here, the language of his songs to the Virgin Mary.
• Santa Mariña de Augas Santas (km 105.0) — 12th-century Romanesque sanctuary over the tomb of the martyr Marina; next to it, the pre-Roman Castro de Armeá.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

Most come along the Camino Sanabrés and choose the south in A Gudiña. If you walk the whole Vía de la Plata from Seville, you turn onto the Sanabrés at Granja de Moreruela and face the same choice a few days later. Those starting here reach A Gudiña by train: A Gudiña-Porta de Galicia station is on the Madrid–Ourense high-speed line.

From the south, Verín is the natural entry point. The Camino Portugués Interior runs 228.3 kilometers from the Ecopista do Dão outside Viseu via Lamego, the Douro and Chaves to Verín; from there its pilgrims walk the 68.4 kilometers of this variant to Pereiras and then continue on the Sanabrés. According to Xacopedia, several Ways of St. James meet in Verín anyway—this was borderland, and roads ran in every direction.

Continue the pilgrimage?

Yes, and with no further decision to make: in Pereiras the variant flows back into the Camino Sanabrés. After a good 10 kilometers you're in Ourense, with the hot springs of As Burgas and the Roman bridge over the Miño; from there it's a good 100 kilometers via Cea and Lalín to Santiago. The Camino Ninja planner combines both routes automatically, just as the waymarker stones do.

Expect it to get busier from Ourense on: the city is the most popular starting point for everyone walking only the last 100 kilometers for the Compostela. If you've come from the Portugués Interior, you'll have about two weeks in your legs since Viseu by then.

Preparation & Practical Information

Credential and app. As on all Spanish routes, you need a pilgrim passport (credencial) to stay in the albergues and receive the Compostela at the end. It's best to order it online in advance so it reaches you in time for the start of your trip. With the Camino Ninja App you have the map and track offline; the easiest way to plan the route is right in the app, where you put together your stages and plan suitable accommodation along with them.

Albergues and waymarking. The Xunta albergues in A Gudiña, Verín, Vila de Rei, Xinzo and Sandiás don't take reservations and open in the early afternoon. In As Vendas da Barreira and Allariz you sleep in a hostal or guesthouse; for Allariz on weekends, better book ahead. Pilgrims report that the variant is less densely marked than the route via Laza and that the albergue in Sandiás isn't always well kept; keep the track in the app handy, especially on the A Limia plain.

Season. In spring the broom and chestnuts bloom; in September it's grape harvest in Monterrei. In July and August A Limia gets very hot; in winter A Gudiña, at nearly 1,000 meters, is cold, and fog lies in the valley. If you want to experience the Entroido in Verín or Xinzo, plan for February—accommodation fills up then.

What the journey will cost you

The Xunta albergues cost 10 € a night, in A Gudiña, Verín, Vila de Rei, Xinzo and Sandiás as well as in Ourense (as of October 2026). In Verín there are guesthouses from 29 € and hostales from 35 €, in As Vendas da Barreira the Hostal Bayona from around 60 € for a double, in Allariz hostales from 35 € for a single and rural guesthouses around 70 €, the Casa Rural in Augas Santas 56 to 70 € (as of October 2026). In Ourense a hostel bed costs from 18 € (as of October 2026).

Budget 30 to 45 € a day with albergue, bar breakfast and menú del día; on the hostal evenings in As Vendas da Barreira and Allariz, more like 55 to 75 €. Honestly, this is Galicia away from the big crowds: the lunch menu is cheap, and in Verín the pilgrim menu almost always comes with a glass of Monterrei wine.

Getting Here

To the start. A Gudiña is quicker to reach than the town suggests: A Gudiña-Porta de Galicia station is on the Madrid–Ourense high-speed line, and buses also stop on the N-525. The nearest airports are Santiago, Vigo and Porto. If you start in Verín, take the bus from Ourense or come from Portugal via Chaves.

From the finish. From Pereiras it's a good 10 kilometers on foot to Ourense, the rail hub with high-speed trains to Santiago, Madrid and A Coruña. If you have to stop in Verín or Xinzo, take the bus to Ourense.

• Rail: renfe.com — trains to A Gudiña-Porta de Galicia and from Ourense to Santiago and Madrid
• Albergues: caminodesantiago.gal — official Xunta site with list of albergues