Stages of the French Way from Sarria

This stretch of the Camino is not only one of the most recommended in our agency, but it is also the most made by pilgrims. Read on to discover why it is so popular these stages French Way from Sarria!

Whether you are going to do the Camino de Santiago for the first time or if you have already done it on some other occasion, you will surely find the stages of the French Way will surprise you with its spectacular landscapes, villages, monuments, towns and unparalleled gastronomy.

Know how many stages there are from Sarria to Santiago is one of the most frequent doubts among travellers.

Below, we leave here the 5 stages through which passes this section of the Jacobean Route, consisting of 114 kilometres, where you will find countless pilgrims and enjoy the magic of the Camino.

Thanks to the large number of pilgrims who decide to make the Camino de Santiago from Sarria, travel to this Galician town has become very accessible.

That is why, from Viajeros Canallas we leave you several options to get there and this link to the stages of the French Way if you want to know a little more about its route and how to get to Sarria Camino de Santiago.

Stages of the French Way

DAY 1: Arrival in Sarria

Sarria is the starting point of this section of the French Way. When you arrive, we recommend that you take a stroll through the historic centre of this town and lose yourself in its narrow streets.

Have a drink in one of them, such as the Rúa Maior, and see monuments such as the Church of Santa Mariña, which houses a mural where the pilgrim is the main protagonist, the Escaleira da Fonte or the Fortress of Sarria, among many others.

Enjoy Sarria, you are about to start the adventure, this is one of the stages of the French Way.

DAY 2: Sarria - Portomarín

In this stage of the French Way we will cover a distance of 22 kilometres. The estimated time en route is between 5 and 6 hours.

This is the start of your Camino de Santiago and it starts with a short climb.

The best thing is that this is one of the most forested routes in the rural part of Galicia. Besides that, this stage stands out for the beauty of its landscapes and because it passes through the 100th kilometre of the French Way of St. James.

Along the way, we will find many Romanesque villages, rural paths full of oak and chestnut trees, beautiful watercourses, medieval bridges and several of the famous "corredoiras" that will make us jump from one village to another.

We will also see some hórreos, those wooden or stone constructions typical of Galician architecture that were used to shelter the harvests.

The stage is not at all complicated, as the terrain is gentle and undulating. We finish in Portomarín, at the foot of the Belesar Reservoir, formed by the Miño River.

We recommend that you walk through its streets and visit its emblematic Church of San Juan and the Virgen de las Nieves Chapel, just as you enter the town.

DAY 3: Portomarín - Palas de Rei

The route is 25 kilometres long and the estimated time en route is 6 hours.

This second stage follows the same line as the previous one: it runs through rural areas and crosses several small villages.

It starts by crossing the Belesar reservoir via a footbridge, climbs towards the Sierra de Ligonde and runs mostly along paths close to the road.

Throughout this stage of the French Way of St. James we will be able to enjoy the beauty of Romanesque architecture thanks to all the churches of this style that we will come across and we will come across many "cruceiros", clear signs that indicate that we are in a pilgrimage area.

In this section, within the stages of the French Way of St. James, we will pass through small beautiful villages such as Ventas de Narón or Gonzar and we will cross Castromaior, a village where we will find the Castro de Castromaior, one of the most important archaeological sites of the Iron Age in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

DAY 4: Palas de Rei - Ribadiso

The route is 27 kilometres long and the estimated time en route is between 7 and 8 hours.

We reach the most beautiful and longest stage of our Camino de Santiago from Sarria. The first part of the itinerary has no complications beyond the ups and downs characteristic of this part of Galicia.

We will walk along paths and pass through small Galician villages until we reach Melide, a town famous for its "pulperías".

From Melide, the stage becomes a little more complicated due to the climbs, some of which are steep, until you reach Ribadiso.

From Palas de Rei to Ribadiso we will enjoy several medieval bridges, such as Leboreiro and Furelos, and also the lush landscape full of pine and eucalyptus trees. In addition, we will cross the cobbled pass of the Catasol River, one of the idyllic sites of the Way of St. James.

DAY 5: Ribadiso - O Pedrouzo

The route is 21 kilometres long and the estimated time en route is between 5 and 6 hours.

This is the penultimate stage of the French Way of Saint James. It does not involve much difficulty beyond the slight ups and downs typical of the area. It is an easy section to walk, as we will walk along quiet forest tracks and pass through small villages.

We will alternate paths through a multitude of trees with areas close to the road, which we will have to cross on occasion until we reach O Pedrouzo. Before the end of the stage, we will come across the Chapel of Santa Irene, which is famous for housing a large statue of Santiago de Compostela.

DAY 6: O Pedrouzo - Santiago de Compostela

The route is 19 kilometres long and the estimated time en route is between 4 and 5 hours. We arrive at the beginning of the end of our Camino de Santiago within the French Way stages, this would be the last stage.

We begin the last stage, perhaps the most special of all because it is the arrival in Santiago de Compostela, but not the most beautiful or demanding from a technical point of view. It is a gentle route, similar to the previous one, except for the climb to San Marcos from Lavacolla.

This place gets its name from the fact that it was the place where pilgrims used to stop in the past to wash themselves in order to present themselves clean before the Apostle Santiago.

Just 5 kilometres from the end, we reach Monte del Gozo, where we find one of the most beautiful panoramic views of the whole trip:

Santiago de Compostela with its imposing facade of the Obradoiro. We walk these last few kilometres, through the streets of the city, until we reach the magical moment of entering the Plaza del Obradoiro.

Here it is possible that it will happen to you as it does to the vast majority of pilgrims: a cocktail of feelings and full happiness.