Camino Sanabrés | Círculo Chileno

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From Granja de Moreruela (Zamora) to Santiago de Compostela. 15 stages. About 370 km.

Zamora is the starting point of this route, which enters Galicia at A Gudiña and continues through Ourense, Pontevedra and A Coruña. It is the natural continuation of the Vía de la Plata and the Camino Mozárabe, the two routes that lead from the south to Santiago. It has a good network of hostels and lodgings and is well waymarked all the way to Compostela.

It is a variant of the routes taken by pilgrims from the south of the Peninsula. It begins in the province of Zamora, follows old Roman roads and is part of the itinerary used by the Galician harvesters who travelled to work in Castilla. Granja de Moreruela is the starting point: there the Cistercian order founded the monastery of Santa María de Moreruela, the oldest Cistercian monastery in Spain, known in its origins as Santiago de Moruela, a sign of the Jacobean past of this route. From here the pilgrim can reach Santiago by the original Vía de la Plata, through Benavente and Astorga, or take the Zamora section through Tábara, Santa Marta de Tera, Mombuey and Puebla de Sanabria.

Two variants for entering Galicia. The shorter and more popular one goes through A Gudiña and Laza. The other enters the province of Ourense through Verín; it is somewhat longer but highly recommended for cyclists, as much of it runs along paved roads, and it links with the inland variant of the Camino Portugués at Chaves. The Sanabrés visits Ourense, passes through Pontevedra and enters A Coruña as far as the Galician capital, with Romanesque gems, vineyard landscapes and green paths. Wine, food and heritage accompany the walk.

Stages

Getting to the starting point

Granja de Moreruela: by bus from Benavente or Zamora with Autocares Vivas; by car on the A-66, both from the north (Benavente) and from the south (Zamora).

Puebla de Sanabria: by bus from Madrid, Ourense, Pontevedra and Vigo with AvanzaBus; from Irún, Bilbao and Barcelona with Vibasa; from Andalucía, Salamanca, Algeciras, A Coruña and Santiago with Dainco. By train, Renfe Cercanías from Zamora, Valladolid and Ourense, and Alvia or Tren Hotel from Madrid, Medina, Zamora, A Coruña, Vigo, Ourense and Pontevedra. By car on the A-52; from Madrid it is 354 km, about 3 hours 15 minutes.

Bus, train and airport links are on the Spanish page. With the 25 km of the Vía de los Andes validated, Chilean pilgrims need 75 km on foot in Spain to reach the minimum 100 km for the Compostela.