Abadín

Right now in Abadín (as of October 2026)

• Feira dos Santos: Gontán holds a big market on the first Saturday in November, so in 2026 on 7 November. There is also a market there on the first and third Saturday of every month.
• Albergues in winter: According to our database the private albergues in Abadín are only open until the end of October. The public albergue in Gontán is open all year.

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough. Abadín is a village on the plateau with the national road running through it. You arrive after the climb from Mondoñedo, rest, shop and walk on the next morning. If you want to see something, take the short detour to the Romanesque church of Santa María.

Abadín in Ninja numbers

• 140.9 kilometres are left from here to Santiago on the Camino del Norte.
• 509 metres is Abadín's altitude, almost 400 metres above Mondoñedo.
• 16.7 kilometres is the stretch from Mondoñedo, with 753 metres of ascent.
• 0.9 kilometres lie between the albergue in Gontán and Abadín.
• 20.5 kilometres take you to Vilalba tomorrow, across the open plateau.

Arriving: up on the Terra Chá

The path from Mondoñedo is the big climb of this section. It leads up through hamlets to 560 metres, just before Gontán. There the climbing stops and the landscape opens out: meadows, pastures and on the horizon the Serra do Xistral. Beyond the Gontán albergue the path passes a factory to the N-634 national road and on to Abadín.

In brief: gateway to the Terra Chá

Abadín is the first of the Terra Chá municipalities you reach on the Camino del Norte. It lies in the north-east of this plateau, crossed by the Serra do Xistral, whose highest peaks rise above 1,000 metres. Historically the area belonged to the old province of Mondoñedo. Gontán, the place with the albergue, used to be a trading post and a crossroads; the markets still bear witness to that.

Space and silence: what to see

There isn't much, and that is part of the place.

• Igrexa de Santa María de Abadín: A 12th-century Romanesque church on a small rise, built of granite with a slate roof. The main chapel was added in the 16th century; the façade has a round-arched doorway, a rose window and two coats of arms. It is a short detour off the route; we found no opening hours.
• Area recreativa de Gontán: A picnic area under oaks, birches and willows with a river bathing spot.

Honestly

• Abadín lies on the national road. The path enters the village along the N-634; the beauty is in the landscape around it, not on the through road.
• Supplies are scarce. The sources disagree: one lists bars, a supermarket and a pharmacy, another speaks of very limited services. Better to buy the essentials in Mondoñedo.
• In winter only Gontán is left. The private albergues close at the end of October.
• The kitchen in Gontán is basic. Pilgrims report only one hob.

Where pilgrims sleep

The Xunta's Albergue de peregrinos de Gontán lies 0.9 kilometres before Abadín, has 26 places, costs €10 and is open all year; you cannot book (as of October 2026). In Abadín itself there are two private albergues: Goás for €17 and Xabarín for €19, both open from early April to the end of October according to our database.

Ninja tips

• Bring food from Mondoñedo. On the climb and up here the choice is small.
• Bring a pot for Gontán. According to pilgrims the albergue kitchen has only one hob.
• Plan for the Feira dos Santos. If you are here in early November, the market in Gontán is worth it.
• Choose your variant in Mondoñedo. There are two ways up; at the forks follow the waymarks.

Onward: across the plateau to Vilalba

Tomorrow it is 20.5 kilometres to Vilalba. The path stays on the plateau: just after Abadín you reach the day's highest point at 541 metres, then you continue via As Paredes, Martiñán and O Campo do Cristo in gentle ups and downs through pastures and woodland.

Deep dive: Where the green stops climbing

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Abadín. About two minutes' reading.

The last big climb

Since Ribadeo you have been climbing from the sea into the interior, over hills and valleys, through Lourenzá and Mondoñedo. The path up to Gontán is the last big climb of this section. Up here everything changes. The valleys disappear, and before you lies the Terra Chá, the flat land, a plateau of meadows, pastures and small woods. To the north-east rise the hills of the Serra do Xistral.

A place of markets

Gontán, where the albergue stands, used to be a trading post and a crossroads. To this day people from the area come here twice a month to buy and sell, and in early November for the big Feira dos Santos. Abadín itself is a village on the road. A little apart stands its Romanesque church from the twelfth century, of granite and slate, the way people here have built for centuries.

What Abadín gives you

Up here you notice that the Way changes its character. The sea lies behind you, and so does the long climb. What comes now is space. There are still a good 140 kilometres to Santiago, and you walk many of them through quiet country. Perhaps Abadín is the place where you get used to it.