Mondoñedo

Right now in Mondoñedo (as of October 2026)

• Museum and cathedral in winter: According to the Xunta's museum page, from November to February the cathedral museum is only open Monday to Saturday from 10:30 to 14:30, closed on Sundays and closed entirely in January. Pilgrims pay €5.

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough, but make it a long one. The old town is small, you can see it in half a day: the cathedral with its museum, the square and the fountain, the mill quarter of Os Muíños. If you come from Lourenzá, you arrive at midday and have time. If you come from Ribadeo, you have 35.9 kilometres behind you and will see the town in the evening. Mondoñedo can fill a rest day if you need calm before the plateau.

Mondoñedo in Ninja numbers

• 157.6 kilometres are left from here to Santiago on the Camino del Norte.
• 1112 is when the bishop moved here, away from the coast, where the Vikings were raiding. Since then Mondoñedo has been a bishops' town.
• 1248 is the year the cathedral was consecrated. Its rose window measures about five metres.
• 425 metres is your net climb tomorrow: from 135 metres here to 560 metres before Gontán.
• 3,303 people lived in the municipality at the start of 2025; until 1833 it was the capital of one of the seven Galician provinces.

Arriving: into the green valley

From Lourenzá you climb via Grove to 244 metres and then come down into a valley that the writer Álvaro Cunqueiro, a son of the town, called "perdida entre verduras derramadas de castiñeiros", lost in the spilled-out green of the chestnut trees.

In brief: the bishops' town

Mondoñedo is first mentioned in 858. It became important around 1112, when the bishop's see was moved from the coast inland to be safe from attacks from the sea. The cathedral was begun in the 13th century and consecrated in 1248. Until 1833 Mondoñedo was the capital of one of the seven provinces of the old Kingdom of Galicia. The As San Lucas fair in October probably dates back to the 12th century and is considered one of the oldest in Galicia. In 1985 the old town was protected as a historic ensemble, and in 2015 it joined the World Heritage list together with the Camino del Norte.

The kneeling cathedral

The cathedral owes its nickname to its shape: it is low and wide, as if it had knelt down. It was begun in Romanesque style, in the 15th century it received Gothic stone vaults in place of the old wooden ceilings, and in the 18th century the two Baroque towers. The large rose window above the portal catches your eye from the square.

For pilgrims from northern Europe the museum is worth a look: it holds English alabaster figures from the 15th century, made in workshops in London and Nottingham. They show how far the connections of this small bishops' town reached.

Under the arcades: what to see

Everything is close together, under arcades and between houses with coats of arms.

• Cathedral of Santa María: A basilica and National Monument since 1902, begun in Romanesque style, vaulted in Gothic and topped with Baroque towers.
• Museo Catedralicio e Diocesano: Housed in rooms of the cathedral since 1968, with English alabasters, Flemish panel paintings from the 16th century, silverwork and choir books. Admission €7, €5 with a pilgrim credential (as of October 2026). In October Wednesday to Saturday 10:30–14:30 and 16:00–18:00, Monday mornings only, closed Tuesday, Sunday 13:00–18:30; winter hours see above.
• Fonte Vella: The old fountain on the main square.
• Os Muíños: The mill quarter by the river, known as the "little Venice" of Mondoñedo.
• Casa-Museo Álvaro Cunqueiro: The writer's birthplace (1911–1981), admission €1 according to Gronze.
• Seminario de Santa Catalina: The 17th-century seminary; today it also houses a hospedería.

Food and drink

The bars serve Galician raciones such as raxo, zorza, lacón or revuelto de grelos. The town's speciality is the Tarta de Mondoñedo, a cake of puff pastry, sponge, pumpkin "angel hair" and candied fruit. Buy a slice for tomorrow's climb.

Honestly

• Tomorrow gets steep. You climb to 560 metres before Gontán, with more than 700 metres of ascent over 15.8 kilometres.
• There is little on the way. Between Mondoñedo and Gontán bars and shops are rare; take water and food.
• In winter it gets quiet. The private El Montero albergue closes at the end of October, and the museum is closed in January.

Where pilgrims sleep

The public Albergue de peregrinos de Mondoñedo is about 300 metres from the cathedral according to Gronze and open all year, for €10 (as of October 2026). The sources disagree on the number of beds. Privately you can sleep at El Albergue del Montero for €20, open from March to the end of October, or at Lumen next to the cathedral for around €20 to €25, open all year. There are also pensions, hostales and the hospedería in the Seminario.

Ninja tips

• Visit the museum with your credential. You pay €5 instead of €7 and see the inside of the cathedral at the same time.
• Come from Lourenzá, not from Ribadeo. Then you are here by midday and have time for the town.
• Buy tarta and water for tomorrow. The climb to Gontán has hardly any supplies.
• Follow the waymarks at forks. From Mondoñedo there are two routes to Abadín; in fog and rain decide in advance which one you take.

Onward: up to the plateau

From Mondoñedo there are two waymarked routes to Abadín. The Camino Ninja map follows the one via Gontán, 15.8 kilometres with 722 metres of ascent up to 560 metres just before Gontán, and a further 0.9 kilometres to Abadín. There is also a shorter variant via Monte do Pico that is not drawn on the map. Gontán has a public albergue.

What awaits you tomorrow

Tomorrow you leave the green valleys and climb onto the plateau of the Terra Chá. Up in Gontán a Xunta albergue is waiting, and Abadín is the first municipality of this wide, open landscape.

Deep dive: The town that fled the sea

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

A bishop on the run

The diocese whose seat lies in Mondoñedo today is old. It was founded in the sixth century on the coast, where Britons from Britain had settled. But the coast was dangerous. Viking ships appeared, plundered and vanished again. Around the year 1112 the bishop therefore moved inland, into this sheltered valley. Here the church was meant to be safe.

A cathedral that kneels

In the thirteenth century work began on a cathedral, and in 1248 it was consecrated. It never grew tall. Its walls are wide and heavy, its proportions squat, and so people call it the kneeling cathedral. Later centuries kept building on it. Gothic vaults replaced the wooden ceilings, a large rose window was set into the façade, and in the eighteenth century the two Baroque towers were added. And yet it kept its posture. It looks modest rather than triumphant.

The capital in the valley

For centuries Mondoñedo was more than a bishop's seat. It was the capital of one of the seven provinces of the old Kingdom of Galicia, with noble houses, convents and a seminary. In 1809 French troops took the town by surprise. In 1833 the seven provinces became four, and Mondoñedo lost its rank. What remains are the arcades, the coats of arms on the houses and a fair in October, As San Lucas, which probably goes back to the twelfth century.

What Mondoñedo gives you

You are in a town born of caution. Its cathedral kneels instead of boasting. Tomorrow you climb out of this valley onto the plateau, and the Way becomes more open. Perhaps you will take the posture of this church with you: not small, but close to the ground.