Stage 31 / 33 · Camino Francés · Galicia
Palas de Rei to Arzúa
The stage from Palas de Rei to Arzúa is 29.1 km, about 8 h on foot, with 480 m of total ascent and 640 m of descent.
| Distance | 29.1 km |
|---|---|
| Estimated time | 8 h |
| Elevation gain / loss | +480 m / −640 m |
| Difficulty | Demanding |
| Highest point | 548 m |
| Lowest point | 310 m |
| Villages with services | 8: Palas de Rei, San Xulián do Camiño, Casanova, Leboreiro, Melide, Boente, Ribadiso, Arzúa |
| Longest stretch without services | 6.1 km |
| Updated |
All stages · Camino Francés · Palas de Rei: what to see and where to stay · Melide: what to see and where to stay · Arzúa: what to see and where to stay
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Today on the Camino
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To Arzúa—
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Where to stay in Arzúa
You pay at the property.
Where to stay in Melide
Buen Camino Melide
HotelCasa Cea
House / apartmentCasa de Pedra
House / apartmentCasa Entera A Ferradura
House / apartmentWhere to stay in Arzúa
A casa do lajueiro
House / apartmentAlojamientos MYL
GuesthouseApartamentos Campus Arzúa
House / apartmentPilgrim hostels in Arzúa(2)
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Elevation profile
400 m600 m Palas de Rei · 548 mArzúa
Official route and distance by the Xunta de Galicia; elevations from a digital terrain model.
Map
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What you will see on the way
San Xulián do Camiño, Casanova and the medieval bridge of Leboreiro over the Seco. Furelos, with another medieval bridge, opens Melide, junction with the Camino Primitivo and capital of pulpo á feira. Boente, Castañeda and Ribadiso, with its old pilgrim hospital by the river Iso, before Arzúa, home of Arzúa-Ulloa cheese. At 29.1 km it is the longest stage from Sarria and the one with most descent, 640 m. Melide sits halfway, at 14.6 km, followed by short climbs in each valley.
History of Arzúa
Arzúa is a town in A Coruña where the Camino Francés joins the Camino del Norte, and it gives its name to the protected-origin Arzúa-Ulloa cheese. The 12th-century Codex Calixtinus records it as “Vilanova”, a sign of medieval origin or refoundation.
Long before it was cheese country, Arzúa was the “new town” of medieval pilgrims.
What not to miss in Arzúa
- Capela da Madalena
- Church of Santiago: with St James as pilgrim and as Moor-slayer
- Ponte de Ribadiso: medieval bridge over the Iso
Origins and the Camino
The town grew up with the Camino: there is hardly any record of it before the pilgrimages. The Codex calls it Vilanova, and the Italian Domenico Laffi noted it in 1666 as “Villa Roza”.
An Augustinian convent once took in pilgrims here; its Magdalena chapel survives as a cultural space.
Anecdotes, curiosities and legends
In nearby Castañeda, says the Codex Calixtinus, stood the lime kilns for the cathedral: pilgrims carried a stone from Triacastela and left it here.
Just before town, the medieval Ribadiso bridge crosses the river Iso. Every March the Festa do Queixo brings the area’s cheesemakers to Arzúa.
Pilgrim tip
Try Arzúa-Ulloa cheese, a mild, creamy cow’s-milk cheese, with local honey: it is the taste of the town.
Legends & tradition
Melide’s melindres
Melide is also a town of pastry: melindres, small glazed aniseed rings, are its signature sweet. They even have their own festival, devoted to the melindre and the traditional baking of the Melide area.
Source: gl.wikipedia.org
Villages along the way
| Village | km | Altitude | Services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palas de Rei · Places to stay | 0 | 565 m | BarShopPharmacyATMDoctorWater fountain |
| San Xulián do Camiño | 3.6 | 480 m | Bar |
| Casanova | 6.1 | 460 m | |
| Leboreiro | 9.2 | 450 m | BarWater fountain |
| Melide | 15.3 | 460 m | BarShopPharmacyATMDoctorWater fountain |
| Boente | 21.4 | 400 m | BarWater fountain |
| Ribadiso | 26 | 320 m | BarWater fountain |
| Arzúa · Places to stay | 29.1 | 390 m | BarShopPharmacyATMDoctorWater fountain |
© OpenStreetMap
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