Camino Sanabrés

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Granja de Moreruela (turnoff from the Vía de la Plata) / Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
• Length: 370.0 km; about 110 km from Ourense
• Duration: 16 stages in our breakdown, 15 to 18 days with a rest day; 5 stages from Ourense
• Elevation: ↗ 7,136 m / ↘ 7,591 m
• Highest point: 1,356 m at km 138.1 on the Puerto de Padornelo, between Requejo and Padornelo
• Landscape: fields and holm oaks in Zamora, the high valleys of the Sanabria, chestnuts and granite villages around Laza, and finally oak and eucalyptus forest
• Operator / Waymarking: Camino associations in Zamora, the Xunta de Galicia in Galicia; yellow arrows, and in Galicia granite markers with a shell and the distance
• Traces of St. James: the oldest known figure of St. James as a pilgrim in Santa Marta de Tera, old pilgrim hospitals in Rionegro, Triufé and Ourense, the albergue in the monastery of Oseira
• Accommodation: pilgrim albergues in almost every stage town, in Zamora often municipal from 5 €, in Galicia Xunta albergues at 10 €; in between, long stretches without a bed
• Connecting routes: Vía de la Plata at Granja de Moreruela, Sanabrés via Verín between A Gudiña and Pereiras, Camino de Invierno from A Laxe, Caminho Minhoto Ribeiro from Deseiro
• Best time: May to June and September to October; in winter, snow is possible on the Padornelo and at A Canda

Overview

In Granja de Moreruela, a village north of Zamora with the ruins of one of the oldest Cistercian monasteries in Spain, every pilgrim on the Vía de la Plata makes their most important decision: straight on to Astorga, or left to Galicia. Most turn left, onto the Camino Sanabrés. It is the older of the two routes. As early as 1225, King Alfonso IX traveled it from Santiago to Puebla de Sanabria; in 1506, Philip the Handsome came via Ourense to Remesal to meet his father-in-law, Ferdinand the Catholic; and around 1612 the humanist Bernardo de Aldrete trudged through the snow of the Padornelo with other clerics from Andalusia.

Today the Sanabrés is a full-fledged Camino in its own right: 370 kilometers, more than 7,000 meters of climbing, the high valleys of the Sanabria, the passes into Galicia, the uplands around Laza and finally the green Galicia of monasteries and granaries. About 110 kilometers before the finish lies Ourense, where hot water bubbles out of the ground and the Roman bridge over the Miño measures 370 meters: one meter for every kilometer of this route. Until you get there, some days you won't meet a soul. From January to May 2026, the Pilgrim's Office counted 2,855 arrivals in Santiago for the entire Vía de la Plata, and 1,248 of them had only set out in Ourense.

Other Names

In Spanish the route is called the Camino Sanabrés, after the Sanabria region in the northwest of the province of Zamora. Historians and the Xacopedia speak of the Camino del Sudeste, in Galician Camiño do Sueste: the southeastern route to Santiago. The Xunta and the Pilgrim's Office simply list it as the Vía de la Plata, because for most pilgrims it is that route's final section. If you are coming from Andalusia, you will also see Mozárabe-Sanabrés, and in English Sanabrian Way or Sanabrés Way.

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

Ideal if you have two weeks and want a complete Camino with its own starting point, a real mountain profile and quiet albergues. Ideal as a second Camino, if you know the bustle of the Camino Francés and want the opposite. If you only have five days, start in Ourense and you'll get your Compostela plus a thermal bath.

Honestly, though, it's not for you if you need company, cafés and short stages every day. Between Santa Marta de Tera and Puebla de Sanabria, Gronze plans days of 36 and 32 kilometers; the stage from A Gudiña to Laza runs 34 kilometers with almost no services; and in villages of ten houses there is neither a shop nor a bar. Not for you if highways and high-speed rail bother you: both run alongside the route for many kilometers in the Sanabria and beyond A Gudiña. And not for winter without experience, because there is sometimes snow on the Padornelo and at A Canda.

Route & Landscape

Granja de Moreruela to Puebla de Sanabria (km 0–115.5): Shortly after the start you cross the Esla at the Puente Quintos and pass through fields and holm-oak woods to Tábara (km 24.9). At Santa Croya and Santa Marta de Tera (km 47.6) you reach the Tera, which the route follows along poplar-lined lanes via Calzadilla and Olleros to Villar de Farfón. Beyond that it gets higher and more wooded: Rionegro del Puente (km 74.6), Mombuey (km 83.5), then small villages such as Asturianos and Remesal, until Puebla de Sanabria (km 115.5) appears with its castle and church on their rock. Camarzana de Tera lies 1.3 kilometers off the route.

Puebla de Sanabria to Santiago (km 115.5–370.0): Via Requejo (km 128.1) the route climbs to the Puerto de Padornelo (1,356 m, km 138.1) and through Lubián to the Portela da Canda, the border with Galicia. From A Gudiña (km 170.7) the main route runs along the ridges past the reservoirs to Campobecerros (km 190.3), plunges down to Laza (469 m, km 204.9) and immediately climbs back up to 899 meters at Alberguería (km 216.6). Via Xunqueira de Ambía (km 237.9) it descends to Ourense (174 m, km 259.5). Then come Cea (km 282.3), the monastery of Oseira (km 290.9), the Deza plateau with A Laxe and Silleda (km 329.4), and at Ponte Ulla (km 349.0) the lowest point; one last climb via O Outeiro and Deseiro, and you're in Santiago.

Stages, Terrain, and Difficulty

We show the route in 16 stages of 17 to 28 kilometers, each with accommodation at the end. Distances come from the Camino Ninja map, calibrated exactly to 370.0 km. In Zamora, Gronze plans fewer but longer days; beyond Cea, the map leads via the monastery of Oseira, which many guides list as a variant.

1. Granja de Moreruela → Tábara (24.8 km) — across the Esla, then quiet farm tracks.
2. Tábara → Santa Marta de Tera (22.7 km) — to the Tera and the oldest figure of St. James as a pilgrim.
3. Santa Marta de Tera → Rionegro del Puente (27.0 km) — along the river through poplars and riverside woods.
4. Rionegro del Puente → Asturianos (25.5 km) — via Mombuey into rolling hills, often beside the N-525.
5. Asturianos → Requejo (28.0 km) — via Puebla de Sanabria to the foot of the pass.
6. Requejo → Lubián (19.0 km) — up to the Padornelo, the roof of the route.
7. Lubián → A Gudiña (23.6 km) — over the Portela da Canda into Galicia.
8. A Gudiña → Campobecerros (19.6 km) — tracks at around 1,000 meters, with hardly a village.
9. Campobecerros → Alberguería (26.3 km) — steeply down to Laza, then 430 meters back up.
10. Alberguería → Xunqueira de Ambía (21.3 km) — via Vilar de Barrio to the Romanesque collegiate church.
11. Xunqueira de Ambía → Ourense (21.6 km) — woods first, then long suburbs.
12. Ourense → Cea (22.8 km) — steeply up out of the Miño valley to the bread village.
13. Cea → Castro de Dozón (19.5 km) — via the monastery of Oseira.
14. Castro de Dozón → Silleda (27.6 km) — via A Laxe and the Ponte Taboada over the Deza.
15. Silleda → O Outeiro (23.7 km) — down to the Ulla and back up again.
16. O Outeiro → Santiago de Compostela (17.0 km) — through woods and suburbs to the cathedral.

Technically the route isn't difficult, but it adds up: the big climbs come at the Padornelo, between A Gudiña and Campobecerros, after Laza and right after Ourense, and almost every day goes up and down several times. Gronze rates the A Gudiña–Laza stage, with 1,063 meters of ascent, as one of the hardest and at the same time calls it the most beautiful of the Galician section.

The World's Oldest Pilgrim Stands in Santa Marta de Tera

On the second evening you reach a village of a few hundred people and a church you know without knowing it. On the south facade of Santa Marta de Tera stands the Apostle James as a pilgrim: with staff, cloak and a shell on his bag, his left hand held forward, palm open. The Xacopedia dates the figure to the second quarter of the 12th century and calls it the oldest known depiction of the apostle as a pilgrim. Every St. James with hat and shell has his oldest known ancestor here. The world's oldest pilgrim hasn't moved a step in almost 900 years, and yet all the others have followed him.

The place is older than the figure. A monastery of Mozarabs, Christians from the Moorish south, is first mentioned in a deed of donation in 979; in 1063, King Ferdinand I and Queen Sancha handed it over to the Bishop of Astorga. The Romanesque church dates from the late 11th or early 12th century and is among the oldest of Spanish Romanesque; it has been a protected monument since June 3, 1931. In 1993 the figure served as the model for a Spanish five-peseta coin for the Holy Year. Because the stone had suffered badly after centuries of rain, the Junta de Castilla y León had canopies built over the south and west portals in 2025 for 151,497 euros, along with an alarm system and new lighting.

The church has another trick. Twice a year, at the equinoxes around March 21 and September 23, a ray of morning sun falls through the round window of the apse and travels across a figurative capital. The parish priest Julián Acedo rediscovered this play of light in 1997; locally it is called the miracle of the equinox light. In practice: if your trip falls on those days, plan a night in Santa Marta and be in the church in the morning.

Highlights Along the Way

• Santa María de Moreruela (near km 0) — monastery ruins near the village, founded around 1131/1133 or 1143, perhaps the oldest Cistercian house in Spain; a national monument since 1931.
• Tábara (km 24.9) — here the Tábara Beatus was completed on July 29, 970. The scribe Emeterius sighed: "O turre tabarense alta et lapidea … ubi Emeterius tribus mensis incurvior sedit" – "O tall stone tower of Tábara, where Emeterius sat hunched over for three months."
• Santa Marta de Tera (km 47.6) — the oldest figure of St. James as a pilgrim, a Romanesque church and the equinox light.
• Puebla de Sanabria (km 115.5) — castle of the Counts of Benavente, built from 1455 onward. About 8 kilometers away lies the Lago de Sanabria, at 368 hectares the largest glacial lake on the Iberian Peninsula and a natural park since 1978; on January 9, 1959, the Vega de Tera dam above it burst, and 144 people died in Ribadelago.
• Lubián (km 147.1) — mountain village with slate roofs and the Baroque sanctuary of A Tuiza.
• Laza (km 204.9) — famous for its Entroido carnival, when the Formigas throw soil full of live ants into the crowd.
• Alberguería (km 216.6) — the Rincón del Peregrino, a bar and albergue with thousands of shells on the walls; the owner, Luis, hands you one and you write your name on it.
• Xunqueira de Ambía (km 237.9) — the collegiate church of Santa María la Real, founded in 955, a collegiate chapter since 1164, with a Gothic cloister.
• Ourense (km 259.5) — the hot springs of As Burgas, thermal pools on the Miño, the cathedral with the Pórtico do Paraíso, and the Ponte Vella, rebuilt in 1230 on Roman foundations and shortened to 370 meters in 1679.
• Cea (km 282.3) — in 2004 the Pan de Cea became the first bread in Europe to receive a protected geographical indication.
• Monastery of Oseira (km 290.9) — the "Escorial of Galicia," founded in 1137, dissolved in 1835 and inhabited again since 1929; an albergue with 42 beds.
• Ponte Taboada (near km 324.6) — bridge over the Deza with a building inscription from 912.

When Requejo Was Still Galicia: The Passes and Their Chroniclers

Between Puebla de Sanabria and A Gudiña lies the threshold of this route, two passes in 35 kilometers: the Padornelo at 1,356 meters and the Portela da Canda, where the border between Castile and Galicia runs today. Those who walked here in winter wrote it down. Bernardo de Aldrete, a canon and linguist from Córdoba, traveled with other clerics to Santiago and back from January 26 to March 23 around 1612; his diary is now kept in the cathedral of Málaga. On this stage he noted: "Cuando llegamos al lugar de Requejo, primero de Galicia, no habiendo nevado antes comenzó a nevar copiosamente." – "When we came to Requejo, the first place in Galicia, it began to snow heavily, although it had not snowed before."

Today Requejo is in the province of Zamora, a stone's throw before the pass. For Aldrete, Galicia began where the mountains began, and it will be the same for you: beyond the Padornelo, the roofs, walls, language and weather all change. The kings knew the route too. Alfonso IX traveled from Santiago to Puebla de Sanabria in 1225, and in 1506 Philip the Handsome and Ferdinand the Catholic met in the village of Remesal (km 105.8) to negotiate over Castile, after Philip had come via Ourense and the passes.

Then the route was forgotten. The N-525 took over its line, and in 1835 the monasteries lost their property. The rediscovery began with the Vía de la Plata: in 1990 and 1991 the Amigos del Camino de Santiago of Navarre, led by Andrés Muñoz Garde, guided the first international pilgrimage along it; from 1999 Camino associations drove the development of the southeastern route; and in 2008 Ourense hosted a congress of its own. By 2009, more than 6,000 pilgrims were already collecting their Compostela via the Vía de la Plata. In practice: check the weather before the Padornelo, and in snow take the variant along the road.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

Most arrive on foot via the Vía de la Plata from Seville and already have more than 500 kilometers behind them by Granja de Moreruela. If you walk the Sanabrés as a route of its own, take the train to Zamora and the bus from there to Granja de Moreruela. Popular partial starts are Puebla de Sanabria, with its station on the high-speed line to Galicia, and above all Ourense, about 110 kilometers before Santiago.

Along the way, the route branches out. At A Gudiña it forks: the main route runs via Laza, the southern variant Sanabrés via Verín via Verín and Allariz, where pilgrims from Portugal join, and the two meet again at Pereiras before Ourense. At A Laxe the Camino de Invierno from Ponferrada flows in, and from Deseiro the Caminho Minhoto Ribeiro from Braga. The Camino Ninja planner combines these sections automatically, just as the waymarkers do. And if you don't want to stop in Santiago, carry on to the sea on the Camiño a Fisterra.

Preparation & Practical Information

Credential and app. As on all Spanish routes, you need a pilgrim passport (credencial) to stay in the albergues and to receive your 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; on the last 100 kilometers from Ourense you need two stamps a day. 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 your stages together and plan suitable accommodation along with them.

Albergues and supplies. In Zamora the albergues are mostly municipal and small; in Galicia they belong to the Xunta, open in the early afternoon and don't take reservations. There are shops in Tábara, Santa Marta, Mombuey, Puebla de Sanabria, A Gudiña, Laza, Ourense, Cea and Silleda; in between, you should carry water and food for the whole day.

Season. May, June, September and October are ideal: green valleys, mild temperatures, free beds. In July and August Zamora is hot, Galicia more pleasant. Between November and March, expect snow and fog on the Padornelo and at A Canda, and some private albergues close.

What the journey will cost you

The Sanabrés is one of the cheaper routes. In Zamora the pilgrim albergues cost 5 to 12 €: Santa Marta de Tera and Lubián 5 €, Granja de Moreruela and Rionegro del Puente 10 €, Tábara and Requejo 12 € (as of October 2026). The Xunta albergues in Galicia, for example in A Gudiña, Laza, Ourense and Cea, cost 10 €, and private albergues such as the one in Campobecerros around 15 € (as of October 2026). Guesthouses and rural houses run 30 to 55 € per room, and in Ourense you'll find hostel beds from 18 €.

Budget 30 to 40 € a day with albergue, a bar breakfast and the menú del día, or 55 to 75 € in guesthouses. Honestly, in Zamora you sometimes save not just money but dinner too, because nothing in the village is open; then you cook in the albergue kitchen.

Getting Here

To the start. You can reach Zamora by high-speed train from Madrid; from there, buses toward Benavente stop in Granja de Moreruela, about half an hour away. For a later start, high-speed trains on the Madrid–Galicia line stop at Sanabria near Puebla de Sanabria, in A Gudiña and in Ourense.

From the finish. Santiago de Compostela has an airport with direct flights to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, a train station with connections to Madrid, Ourense, A Coruña and Vigo, and a bus station. By train, it takes about 40 minutes to Ourense for the distance you walked in five days.

• Rail: renfe.com — trains to Zamora, Sanabria, A Gudiña, Ourense and from Santiago
• Albergues in Galicia: caminodesantiago.gal — official Xunta site with a list of albergues