Many are the pilgrims who every year seek to complete their journey beyond the stony and sacred Cathedral, beyond the imposing towers and labyrinthine streets of Santiago de Compostela. His final steps are towards the "Finis Terrae", towards the most historic ends of the earth to feel the cool breeze of the Atlantic and find in its golden horizons a physical end that allows them to stop, rest and meditate, before starting a new way. It is the Camino to Finisterre, the only Jacobean itinerary that does not have as its goal the Plaza del Obradoiro or the granite and monumental Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is the road that leads to the most western lands of continental Europe.
On this Camino, of pagan and millenarian origin, the pilgrim will have to enter initially through the municipal districts of Ames, Negreira, Mazaricos and Dumbría, before deciding whether to walk towards Finisterre, or to follow the branch that leads to Muxía. Whatever the chosen itinerary, both destinations are linked by a fascinating stretch of the Camino that runs through coniferous forests a few meters from the sea.
Santiago de Compostela – Negreira (21 km)
The pilgrim will have as starting point the Plaza del Obradoiro to start his march towards the sunset, towards the end of the earth. With his back to the cathedral, he will start his march along the Rúa das Hortas, at the foot of Hostal dos Reis Católicos and Pazo de Raxoi, and continue towards the Carballeira de San Lourenzo. From there you will descend to A Ponte Sarela, where you will cross the river and enter a narrow path in the forest. After leaving behind the santiaguesas parishes of Figueiras and Villestro, alternating stretches of forest and road, you will reach the Alto do Vento and then enter the City of Ames. From the small bridge of Augapesada, the pilgrim will undertake a short but sharp ascent that will take him to the Alto de Mar de Ovellas, effort that will be later comforted with the subsequent descent to A Ponte Maceira, a small and historic paradise on the banks of the course of the Tambre River. After crossing its imposing and legendary bridge, built at the end of the 14th century, the walker will enter fully into the greenery and peace of Negreira Town Hall. You will only have four kilometers left, in which you will leave behind the small villages of A Barca, A Chancela and Logrosa, to reach the center of the town where the Chapel of San Mauro awaits you, the portentous Pazo de Cotón and a more than deserved break.
In the Café Bar Imperial, a few meters from the path of the Fisterra Way and the historic Pazo de Cotón, we have been welcoming Negreira to pilgrims from all over the world for more than 30 years and we strive every day to make them feel like at home. In our restaurant we prepare a close, traditional and honest cuisine with seasonal and local products. We have a daily menu and a variety of tapas, portions and sandwiches.
Negreira – Olveiroa (33 km)
In this stage, the pilgrim will begin his journey under the crenelated shadow of the arch of Pazo de Cotón, following the old Camino Real and leaving behind the Church of San Mauro and the urban center of Negreira. After crossing the riverbed of Barcala, the river that gives its name to this green and fertile region, you will have a long way ahead through purely rural and forested environments that follow one another from the Tambre River basin to the Xallas River basin. The first challenge of the day, without leaving the municipal district of Negreira, will be the ascent to Vilaserío. Once reached, the pilgrim will walk until entering the parish of Santa María das Maroñas, leaving behind the City Council of Negreira and entering the Mazaricos. From here you only have to cross the lonely and majestic Monte Aro, from which you can see a fantastic view of the Fervenza Reservoir, then cross the Xallas River through the historic Ponte Olveira and enter the Dumbría Town Hall. Soon after, you will find on the horizon the fascinating village of Olveiroa, the perfect place to rest before leaving for the Finis Terrae, the long-awaited KM.0, the perfect and historic end of all the roads leading to Compostela, the end of the Land of the old known world.
Olveiroa – Fisterra (34,9 km)
Throughout history, the pilgrim used to put an end to his path in the imposing and legendary Cape Finisterre, the KM. 0 of the Camino de Santiago, where in the light of the sunset he burned his clothes, performed rites of purification and let himself be admired by the immensity of the Atlantic, by the thin line of a horizon where the sun was devoured by the sea. Today, with the integration of Muxía in the path of the Camino, the pilgrim will have to decide at this stage what direction to follow initially, although walking towards Finisterre, or on the contrary to Muxía, but this is not a problem since it exists a fascinating and highly recommended itinerary that unites both destinations without the need to return to Olveiroa.
Perhaps the most advisable thing is to enter the classic path to Finisterre, and once there, choose to continue walking towards Muxía.
Shortly after leaving Olveiroa, the pilgrim will begin a gentle ascent accompanying the winding course of the Xallas River on his way to the village of Hospital, where he will find the fork to continue towards Muxía. Then you will enter a wide forest path that will take you to the hermitages of Nosa Señora das Neves and San Pedro Mártir, before reaching the municipality of Cee and see on the horizon the monumental silhouette of Cape Finisterre on the Atlantic. Once the urban centers of Cee and Corcubión have been traveled, the pilgrim will have to ascend to San Roque to start a comforting descent that will lead him to the small population centers of Amarela and Estorde. It only remains to penetrate the picturesque place of Sardiñeiro to enter fully into the City Hall of Finisterre and return to contemplate its legendary rock on the horizon, defying the fury and the continuous scourging of the sea. When you arrive at the Langosteira beach, you can finally take off your shoes and walk along the seashore refreshing your tired feet to the urban center of Finisterre. From there, only three kilometers remain to reach the KM. 0, at the End of the Path, to the last piece of land that dies in the Atlantic.
Fisterra - Muxía (29 km)
Once arrived at the Finis Terrae, until the end of the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim has the option of continuing his journey to Muxía in a two-way itinerary in which the aroma and the sound of the sea are always present. The first section of this road leaves the urban nucleus of Finisterre through the Duyo Valley. Legend has it that in this valley there was once an important city known as "Dugium" that was devoured by the sea, and as cited in the Calixtino Codex, it was also the place that Queen Lupa sent to the disciples of Santiago to request the burial of the Apostle. After leaving behind this legendary valley, the pilgrim will arrive to the place of Lires to then cross the Castro River by the Vaosilveiro Bridge, inaugurated in 2010, and ascend through Morquintián to the Facho de Lourido, possibly the hardest stretch and exhausting of the stage. From there it is only necessary to descend through the place of Xurarantes to the beach of Lourido before ending our stage in Muxía. The Sanctuary of Nosa Señora da Barca and the Monastery of San Julián de Moraime are obligatory visits for all those visitors or pilgrims who come to this fanned and atlantic border.