This walking tour offers the pilgrim a singular vision and exceptional pathways where you will discover the cliffs, beaches and the most important landmarks in A Costa da Morte. It is the most occidental coast in Spain and it is located in the northern region of Galicia, in the A Coruña province.
Traditionally, it is a magic place where the pilgrim can find themselves cause parallel universe is meeting here. Besides that, the brave sea of this coastal region has records like a big black mark.
Its for that in the late 19th century started to built lighthouses for guiding the ships between so beautiful and dangerous cliffs.
O Camiño dos Faros (Lighthouses Route) is a 200-km hiking route in Galicia (Spain) that links Malpica with Finisterre along the coastline. A route that runs by all the Lighthouses and the most important landmarks in A Costa da Morte, where definitely, it is the sea the one that plays the main role.
El Camiño dos Faros is not a walking path for beginners or persons who has not a physical training or just they are finding a low difficult route. It has some complicated sections with a medium or high difficulty stages.
Even we provide all the necessary information in order to assure us you have the most enjoyable Camino.
- ITINERARY -
1st day: Transfer SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA to MALPICA
2nd day: MALPICA - MIÑONS (21.9 Km - difficulty 2/3)
3rd day: NIÑONS - PORTECESO (26.1 Km - difficulty 3/3)
4th day: PONTECESO - LAXE (25.3 Km - difficulty 1/3)
5th day: LAXE - AROU (17.7 Km - difficulty 1/3)
6th day: AROU - CAMARIÑAS (26.1 Km - difficulty 2/3)
7th day: CAMARIÑAS - MUXÍA (32Km - difficulty 2/3)
8th day: MUXÍA - NEMIÑA (24.3 Km - difficulty 3/3)
9th day: NEMIÑA - FINISTERRE (26.2 Km - difficulty 3/3)
10th day: Transfer to Santiago. TOUR OVER
The Price Includes:
- 9 nights nights in handpicked hotels and inns, all with en-suite accommodation, on a bed and breakfast basis.
- Transfer from Santiago de Compostela to Malpica's accommodation.
- Transfer from Finisterre to Santiago de Compostela.
- Transfer from accommodation to begin /end of the stage.
- Luggage transfer from hotel to hotel: 1 bag max. 20 kg/ 44 lbs per person.
- GPS tracks and travel documents.
- Travel insurance.
- Telephone assistance (English-speaking)
The Price does not include:
- Lunches and dinners.
- Flights or trains.
- Single room supplement: € 400
- High season supplement (From 24/03 to 31/03 and from 1/07 to 15/09): €350
PRICE PER PERSON BASED ON DOUBLE ROOM
DAILY DEPARTURES FROM MARCH TO OCTOBER
-DAY BY DAY-
1st day: Transfer SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA to MALPICA.
Arrival to the Santiago de Compostela airport on behalf of the client. After that transfer with direction to the picturesque village of Malpica.
This postcard village is placed in a peninsula formed by the fishing port in one side and the Arena Mayor beach in the other side.
Likewise the coastline stretches from Monte Nariga until Punta de Razo.
2nd day: MALPICA - MIÑONS (21.9 Km - difficulty 2/3)
The first stage starts at the lighthouse in the port in Malpica and goes along this beautiful fishing village: the port, its streets, the promenade and the beach Area Maior to go on towards Saint Adrián. Before reaching the chapel, we walk by the beach Seaia and the fountains of the Romeros (people who take part in pilgrimage), where we can get some water.
From Saint Adrian, we can enjoy an awesome view of Malpica and of the Sisargas Islands. We will see these islands from the so-called path of the fishermen which leads us to Beo, walking through the first cliffs of this Camiño dos Faros. From Beo, that is a stop to have something to relax, we go on with the route towards Seiruga, where we will have to take off our boots, to pull up our trousers till the knee to go through a river. Then, we will walk along the beach Seiruga and we will arrive at Brizo, where we will walk along the beach before going up through a stream towards Punta Nariga. When being up the stream, we have to take the dirty track on the right and a path which will lead us to the windpark that we will walk through.
Then, we will walk down a path till we reach the road of Nariga and, from there to the lighthouse Punta Nariga, built by César Portela. There are both a complicate ascent and a downhill to the beach Niñóns walking by a cliff-lined area where you are told to finish the stage at that point.
3rd day: NIÑONS - PONTECESO (26.1 Km - difficulty 3/3)
This second stage is kind of long with 26 kms from Niñóns to Ponteceso. It starts in the beach of Niñóns, walking along the coast till the Port of Santa Mariña. It is from this point from where we will start the most demanding and complicate ascent of the day reaching the “Virxe Do Faro” (the Virgin of the Lighthouse), from where we can enjoy some breathtaking views of the following stages.
The furthest point we can see is the dune of MountBranco, in Camariñas, that is the halfway of O Camiño dos Faros. From there we get into the estuary. We walk along the fishing port in Corme, and we leave it to head towards the beach Valarés, walking along the beaches Osmo, Hermida and Rio Covo. When leaving the beach of Rio Covo, we will head towards a broad forest track over the estuary that leads us to the mount Facha and to Valarés, where we can stop to enjoy its beach and pine forest. The end of the stage along Mount Branco is amazing. The coastline takes us close to the river mouth of Anllóns, with a privileged view of the Tiñosa Island, all the dunes and the beach of Barra.
We will descend to walk along this unique kilometre, as it seems to be part of a desert, in the middle of the bay of Insua, a spot popular for its importance ornithological. From there we will walk along the boardwalk in Ponteceso that divides the croplands till we reach the bridge in Ponteceso.
4th day: PONTECESO - LAXE (25.3 Km - difficulty 1/3)
The 1
st kilometre goes along the hard shoulder of the main road that we walk across by taking a crossing point on our right to get to the Bay Insua and walk along its pine groves until Neaño and the beach Urixeira. From there, a 3-km walk starts till O Lodeiro where we can still watch a great number of birds that have their habitat in this estuary of the River Anllóns.
From Dombate we go towards the coast again, turning off in Fontefría to ascend to the Castle of Lourido, which is the summit of this Camiño dos Faros with 312 meters high. From there we can enjoy the most amazing views of the “Ría of Corme and Laxe”. From this summit, we descend across Canduas towards the Beach Area das Vacas, which we will never reach as we take a crossing point that takes us across the pine yards and eucalyptus to the Rebordelo beach, where we suggest having a stopover.
The last part of this stage takes us to Punta do Cabalo, from where we can see Laxe kind of close. We will reach Laxe by walking along its beach and promenade until the village square, which is the end of this stage of O Camiño dos Faros.
5th day: LAXE - AROU (17.7 Km - difficulty 1/3)
This stage starts in Laxe visiting the port and the Church of Santa María of Atalaya to go on till the lighthouse by taking the Route of Insua.
From the lighthouse we have a big panoramic view of the estuary of Corme and Laxe and we can also see all the route we will have to do until Camelle. In Soesto, we will make the first stop to get some food before walking across the Rock Catasol and the beach Arnado. From Mordomo, at the end of the beach Traba, we can take a path that will take us to another amazing landscape of this Camiño dos Faros.
All this part of the coast leading to Camelle takes us to the fairytale Lilliput in the world of huge rocks. Rocks and stones of all shapes and sizes form another unique landscape in this Camiño dos Faros until we get to the cove of Sabadelle, and old whaling port.
6th day: AROU - CAMARIÑAS (26.1 Km – difficulty 2/3)
The stage that includes one of the best hiking-trails that you have ever done, on a coast that is extremely rugged and full of history.
The part of the coast that goes from Arou to Cape Vilán is the beginning of everything. We left Arou early in the morning and we went to the viewpoint in Lobeiras. From there, by walking along a path full of gorse bushes we walk along the “coídos” (small coves full of ball-shaped stones) in the middle of a unique landscape, until we get to the port Santa Mariña that we will go across to ascend the dune in Mount Blanco.
Once again, when we get to the summit, we will enjoy some amazing views of O Camiño dos Faros. When descending, we go across small and isolated coves from the beach Trece until Point Boi.
At this point the sea hits the coast with strength and we can see the Cemetery of the English. From Vilán we get closer to Camariñas by taking another route that runs down the coast, walking by the chapel of the Virgin of the Mount and the Castle to finish the stage in the center of Camariñas, next to the fishing port.
7th day: CAMARIÑAS - MUXÍA ( 32 Km - difficulty 2/3)
This stage is the longest of all the route, the one whose parts run along roads and it will take us around 10 hours. In spite of all this, we love it.
We can see shellfish farmers working in this calm sea, which is rich in shellfish, especially cockles, when the tide is low among flocks of egrets and some other birds that look for shelter and food in this area. When we reach the beach Ariño, we cannot access the upper river Grande along its banks. We have to get the road to go across Tasaraño, Dor, Allo, and get to the bridge Porto, where we will go across all the river walk heading to Cereixo. There, in just a small surface, we can enjoy an amazing walk seeing a tide mill, the church Santiago, and an impressive oak and the Towers of Cereixo.
We have to walk along the road until we turn off along a forest heading the beach Area Grande.We will walk across the beach and ascend along the pine grove to reach the beach Leís, that we will also walk across but in this case being very careful as there are a lot of rocks to get at the lighthouse of the beach Lago.
At the end of this route we see the beach Os Muíños, one of the most visited of the area, that we have to walk till the end by taking a steep hill leading to Chorente. From Chorente, the route takes us along the forest of Chorente and the point with the same name from where we can see Muxía, known as the wind´s girlfriend, which we will reach after walking along the beaches Espiñeirido and A Cruz. But the stage doesn´t finish here, there is 1 kilometre left along which we will walk along the Eastern side of Muxía from the monument devoted to the volunteers to the beach O Coido, the ground zero of the tragedy of the Prestige and the last part of this stage of O Camiño dos Faros.
8th day: MUXÍA NEMIÑA ( 24.3 Km - difficulty 3/3).
This penultimate stage is the most demanding one of this Camiño dos Faros, mainly at the beginning, along the 10 kilometres from Lourido to Moreira with loads of ascents and descents. We leave Muxía across O Coído and we walk across the beach of Lourido till we reach the Coído da Agra. From this point we start ascending to the Mount Cachelmo. Up there, in the mount Cachelmo we enjoy amazing views of Muxía with Vilán in the foreground, and of Point Buitra with Touriñán. From Cuño, we start the ascent to the 264-meter Mount Pedrouzo (2 kilometres ascending with an average gradient of 13%). When we get to the top and after a rest that we actually deserve, we start the descent to the beach Moreira that is also very technique, with a rugged land and an average gradient in some stretches of 25%. When we get to the beach Moreira, the stage starts being less difficult in this second part. From Moreira a dirty track takes us to Touriñán. The westernmost point of this Camiño dos Faros, In the last part of this stage, we will walk along Insua and the Coído de Touriñán to get to the Mirador. There is a road at this point that will take us close to the beach Nemiña, walking across the village Talón. It is the beach Nemiña, the penultimate stage.
9th day: NEMIÑA - FINISTERRE ( 26.2 Km – difficulty 3/3)
The last stage of this Camiño dos Faros is quite long, that´s why we suggest starting it kind of early.
The stage starts on the beach Nemiña and on the other side the beach of Lires, the one we will reach following our Camiño dos Faros. We have to options to get to it: Walk across or border it. The next point in this route is the beach of Rostro (“face”). We will walk across the beach 2 kilometres. As soon as we leave behind the beach of Rostro and after turning over ourselves, we see another unique landscape of this Camiño dos Faros. The cliffs formed by the Point of Rostro and the Point of the Castelo. There, in Point Castelo, we visit the remains of the Castro de Castromiñán although we can only see its exterior walls and from this point we can see the end of this stage: The cape of the Nave. This stretch of Cape of the Nave is one of the most amazing ones. From the cape of the Nave and walking down a very steep descent we reach the beach of Mar de Fora. Ascending without stopping, we reach to the Western part of the Cape, and from that point we start the last slope which is actually very steep and very stony before admiring the first views of the lighthouse Fisterra, the one we reach by taking a route that is completely different from the others: O Camiño dos Faros.
10th day: TRANSFER TO SANTIAGO.
Transfer to Santiago de Compostela after breakfast for your return to home.
