Other Caminos Trips

Beyond the busy Frances and Portuguese ways, a whole family of quieter Caminos reaches Santiago from every direction, and these are two of the most rewarding. The Camino Sanabrés is the Galician branch of the Via de la Plata, the old route up from southern Spain: at Granja de Moreruela it turns northwest, away from the path to the Camino Frances, and runs through the Sanabria hills and the thermal city of Ourense to Santiago, with the last hundred kilometres from Ourense the most-walked stretch. The Camino Padre Sarmiento is newer and coastal, tracing the Ria de Arousa from Pontevedra past fishing towns and vineyards before heading inland for the final push to Santiago. Both sit within the wider Self-Guided Spain tours, and join the company of other Galician routes like the Self-Guided Finisterre Way tours.

Both are walked at your own pace, with route notes and a GPS track, your luggage carried ahead, and rooms booked in advance. They are graded among the harder walks: the Sanabrés climbs steadily out of Ourense through hilly Galician country, and the Padre Sarmiento covers good distances along the coast, so a reasonable level of fitness helps. As pilgrimage tours they end, like every Camino, at the cathedral in Santiago, and they sit among 10Adventures’ wider walking tours; walkers carry a pilgrim passport and collect stamps along the way for the Compostela.

Walks on offer on the lesser-known Caminos, shorter to longer:

1. Self-Guided Camino Sanabrés to Santiago de Compostela 7 days on the last 100 km from Ourense into Santiago.
2. Self-Guided Camino Padre Sarmiento Pilgrimage 9 days on the coastal Padre Sarmiento route from Pontevedra to Santiago.

Spring through autumn is the season, roughly April to October, with late spring and September the sweet spots for mild days and quiet trails. Galicia is green because it rains, so showers are possible in any month and a waterproof is worth carrying. High summer is warmer and brings a few more walkers, though these routes stay quiet next to the main Caminos, and winters are cool, wet and very still.