Camino de Santiago

Chilean consulates in Spain

If you are Chilean and lose your passport or ID card, have an accident or need help from Chile, go to your consulate. Spain has two Chilean Consulates General; which one serves you depends on the region where you are.

Consulate General of Chile in Madrid
Covers Galicia, Asturias, Castilla y León, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. It is the one for Santiago de Compostela and almost all of the Camino in Galicia.

• Consul General: Gonzalo Layseca Astudillo
• Address: Calle Rafael Calvo 18, 5.º C y D, 28010 Madrid
• Phone: 913 190 763 / 913 199 559
• Emergencies (WhatsApp only): +34 609 30 15 20
• Email: madrid@consulado.gob.cl
• Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 14:00, by appointment
• Website: chile.gob.cl/madrid

Consulate General of Chile in Barcelona
Covers Navarre, La Rioja, the Basque Country, Cantabria, Aragon, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Murcia and the Balearic Islands. It is the one for Roncesvalles or the start of the Camino del Norte, for example.

• Consul General: Eduardo Silva Besa
• Address: Calle Consell de Cent 357-359, 1.º B, 08007 Barcelona
• Phone: 933 188 586
• Email: barcelona@consulado.gob.cl
• Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 14:00, by appointment
• Website: chile.gob.cl/barcelona

Honorary consulates
Honorary consuls give guidance and help in an emergency near where you are. For paperwork such as passports or documents you must go to the relevant Consulate General.

• A Coruña: Honorary consul: Wilson Zambrano Bucarey. Calle Sol 35, 5.º C, 15003 A Coruña. Phone: 609 866 922. conchile-lacoruna@hotmail.com.
• Vigo: Honorary consul: Manuel Dopico Gómez-Aller. Calle Colón 7, 4.º izquierda, 36201 Vigo. Phone: 609 737 860. manuel@bufetedopico.com.
• Gijón: no published contact details; ask the Consulate General in Madrid.
• Santander: Honorary consul: Luis Ángel del Río Diestro. Calle Amós de Escalante 2, 1.º A, 39002 Santander. Phone: 686 461 362. contacto@grupoluisdelrio.com.
• Bilbao: Honorary consul: Francisco Javier Mata Barreiro. Calle Alcalde Uhagón 12, 2.º, 48010 Bilbao. Phone: 944 102 144. jmata@bultz-lan.com.
• Valencia: Honorary consul: Leopoldo Ernesto López Mañez. Avenida Marqués de Calvo Sotelo 4, 5.º, 46002 Valencia. Phone: 676 978 000. consul.chile@a-e-b.es.
• Palma de Mallorca: no published contact details; ask the Consulate General in Barcelona.
• Badajoz: no published contact details; ask the Consulate General in Madrid.
• Sevilla: Honorary consul: Rafael Casado González. Avenida República Argentina 24, planta 16, 41011 Sevilla. Phone: 955 199 914 / 954 990 301. chsevilla@minrel.gob.cl.
• Málaga: Honorary consul: Antonio Checa Gómez de la Cruz. Calle José Denis Belgrano 19, 1.º, 29008 Málaga. Phone: 682 211 414. acheca@minrel.gob.cl.
• Cádiz: Honorary consul: Daniel Martínez Becerra. Calle Bergantín 11, Urb. El Manantial, 11500 El Puerto de Santa María. Phone: 606 975 525. consulhonor.chile.cadiz@gmail.com.
• Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Honorary consul: Rafael Montero del Pino. Calle Bethencourt Alfonso 10, 3.º B, 38002 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Phone: 609 015 767. mts.tenerife@gmail.com.

Data from the Consular List of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (updated 30 October 2026) and consulado.gob.cl. Details may change: confirm by phone or email before you go.

• Where: Rúa Carretas 33, Santiago de Compostela, a few steps from the Cathedral.
• Hours: every day from 9:00 to 19:00. Closed on 25 December and 1 January.
• Ticket with QR code: when you arrive you pick up a ticket with a QR code that lets you see on your phone, in real time, how the queue is moving.
• Busy days: the Office warns that it cannot always guarantee delivery of the Compostela on the same day. If you can, go early.
• What to bring: your credential with all the stamps (in the last 100 km, at least two per day).

Besides the Compostela, the Office issues the distance certificate, a document from the Cathedral Chapter that states the starting point and day, the kilometers walked, the arrival date and the route. It is somewhat larger than the Compostela, is printed on parchment paper, and carries a phrase in Latin and a miniature from the Codex Calixtinus. If you already made your pilgrimage and did not ask for it, you can request it later, from November to March, at certificadodedistancia@catedraldesantiago.es .

• Pilgrim's Mass: the Cathedral offers simultaneous translation of the Masses with a free phone app (text, or audio with headphones).
• Masses for an intention: they can be reserved online .
• Candle in the Cathedral: you can light a candle online , also from Chile.
• Volunteering: when you return you can offer to volunteer at the Pilgrim's Office .

• Calendar of Camino events in Galicia.
• The Camino live : live cameras from the official website of the Xunta.

• Camino: the Camino you are walking (for example, Camino Francés or Camino Portugués).
• Means of transport: on foot, by bicycle or other.
• Start of the Camino: the town where you began in Spain.
• Personal details: first name, surnames, sex, age, profession (optional) and nationality: Chile.
• Reason for the pilgrimage: religious, cultural or other.
• Dates: start date and approximate arrival date in Santiago.
• Mileage certificate: an optional box to request the distance certificate.
• Email address and acceptance of data protection.

In the registration, enter the Vía de los Andes as the Camino walked and Santiago de Chile as the start. Bring your Credencial Chilena del Peregrino with the stamps from Chile and Spain, and at the Office ask for the distance certificate. The full steps are in La Vía en Compostela .

Complete the registration with the details of your Camino in Spain: the Camino you are walking, the means of transport and the town where you began.

The Hand of Friendship (or Mocho's hand) can be obtained from the various Associations of Friends of the Camino (we have it in Chile). This gift is not a souvenir: it is not bought or sold, it is only given, and it is handed over while shaking hands, as a symbol of fellowship, to the person who left a mark on you during your Camino.

Its purpose was to show pilgrims who passed that place that they were on the right path. Today the meaning of this tradition has changed somewhat, since leaving a stone symbolizes a show of repentance, leaving the pain behind.

They are usually left on the markers or boundary stones with the Jacobean signs.

On leaving the church, certain pilgrims carried out the saddest of self-imposed obligations: to visit their countrymen in the cemetery of the Holy Pilgrim, which could be entered until the 18th century. It was, to some extent, a sacred rite. It is where pilgrims who die in the city and the poor of the hospital are buried. Every pilgrim became a saint on dying, hence the name of the place.

Bodegas de Irache built a fountain in one of its walls that borders the Camino de Santiago, where pilgrims can drink water and wine free of charge, toasting to happiness. The purpose is to give them strength so that they reach the goal with more vitality.

Historically, before leaving, it was common for the pilgrim to have a will drawn up. Travelers covered their shoulders with a thick cape, a wide-brimmed hat on the head, and in their hand a long staff or bordón. The farewell took place in their hometown and in their church, in a religious ceremony in which they received the blessing and asked for divine protection to overcome the difficulties of the long road.

Every pilgrim who arrives in Santiago must go to the crypt of the Apostle James, located under the High Altar.

The ritual of placing the fingertips in one of the pillars goes back to medieval times and is linked to the first pilgrims. On arrival, after so many hardships, they placed their hand on the pillar to steady themselves while they gazed in wonder at the Apostle. This action left a clear mark on the stone, so it is no longer allowed.

The Santo dos Croques is a tradition promoted by the students of the University of Santiago. More than four centuries ago, they began to bump their heads, known in Galicia as croques (1 to 3), against the head of Master Mateo (located in the Portico of Glory) during exam time so that his intelligence and memory would pass to them. The harder the bump, the greater the effect would be.

Puente la Reina, “crossing of roads”, a medieval town where the two main routes of the Camino de Santiago join.

If you spend the night in Puente La Reina, do not cross the bridge until the next day. Tradition says to wait until morning and to do it barefoot. You hang your boots on your backpack and feel the stones under the soles of your feet, just as millions of pilgrims have done before you.

It is a cross 5 meters tall located in León, standing on an oak pole with a base of stones piled up by the pilgrims who pass by. The ritual is that the pilgrim carries that stone in the backpack from the starting place and throws it at this site, as a symbol of release from their sins and the sorrows they have suffered.

It is usually done at Langosteira Beach, although it is a tradition only for the brave, since the low water temperatures can cause hypothermia. This rite is done to purify both soul and body.

If you decide to extend your Camino de Santiago, you can continue to Finisterre, which in ancient times was known as “the end of the Earth”. Those who reach that place usually burn a piece of clothing or leave old boots, which symbolizes leaving the old life behind and the start of a new one.

It is a stone image of the Apostle, seated on a throne, bearing the cross of the Order of Santiago and in his hand a pilgrim's staff. The tradition is that those who arrive at the Cathedral of Santiago visit the tomb and carry out the ritual of embracing the image from behind.

This Mass is held every day at 12:00, at the High Altar of the Cathedral of Santiago. Traditionally, the botafumeiro (a very large incense burner that is made to swing through the Cathedral) could be seen during the noon Mass every Sunday; today it can only be seen on 12 dates a year.

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela has the privilege of celebrating a Jacobean or Jubilee Holy Year whenever 25 July falls on a Sunday. On 31 December of the previous year the Holy Door is opened, and it stays open until 31 December of the following year. During that time, pilgrims cross it for the forgiveness of sins.