SARRIA

(4km away)

One of the most important named and well-known towns on the way of St. James. This town in Lugo, start and finish to a stage of the French route of the way of St. James, is located 100 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela. The minimum that is needed to be able to request the “compostela” once you have completed the way. For this reason, many pilgrims choose this town to start their way of St. James.

From Sarria it takes approximately 5 days and 6 nights to get to Santiago – covering a total of 5 stages – so starting here is perfect for pilgrims who have little time, but still want to try the experience of the Way of St. James.

Among its monuments, the tower of the Fortress of the Marquesses stands out as the only surviving element of the Fortress. The Aspera bridge, built by the Romans and the Monastery of La Magdalena built in the 13th century. In total, up to 20 churches from the Romanesque period can be found throughout the municipality.

Ribeira Sacra

(43km away)

The Ribeira Sacra, one of Galicia’s wonders, is made up of 21 districts and of the rivers Miño, Sil, Búbal, Lor and multiple affluents that flow for more than 100 kilometers. Located in the south of the Lugo province and the north of Ourense. The name “Ribeira Sacra” comes from the Latin “Rivoira Sacrata”, named after the confluence of monasteries and temples in its monumental canyons and which constitute the largest concentration of Roman history in Europe.

The Ribeira Sacra, is also known for the quality of its wines, widely used in Galician gastronomy, which are popularly known in the area with the generic name of Mencía, because they are made mainly with the Mencia grape variant, although the godello variant is also used. The vineyards, which can be seen following the course of the river, are arranged in a system of stone steps, called socalcos, along the riverbank, and date from Roman times.

Sierra de Ancares

(45km away)

The Os Ancares mountain range is one of the places in Galicia that most surprises for its beauty. It is located in the east of the province of Lugo, bordering the neighboring communities of Castilla y León and Asturias. It is a protected natural area and in 2006 it was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

It constitutes the limit between the autonomous communities of Galicia, Castilla y León and Asturias. Its highest peaks are the Mustallar (1935 m) and Cuiña (1987 m). Its broken territory is formed mainly by the valleys of rivers that descend towards the Sil’s river basin in El Bierzo, on the north slope and towards the Navia river in the province of Lugo, on the western slope of the mountain range.

Due to periods of prolonged isolation caused by its weather, the mountain range is known because its inhabitants have preserved ancestral customs and traditional architecture inherited from the Castro culture, considered the oldest culture in the northwest of Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. Its most notable example is the palloza, a type of rural and circular house with a thatched roof.

Sierra de Courel

(40km away)

The O Courel mountain range, pierced by the River Lor, is a natural setting of incalculable beauty. Its highest peaks are Formigueiros, Montouto and Pía Paxaro, mountains that are very suitable for hiking trails and enjoying nature in its most wild and lively state.
It extends between Lugo and Ourense, in the area that borders León. To the north, it borders Pedrafita do Cebreiro, where the way of St. James passes and where another impresive mountain range, Los Ancares, begins.

Folgoso do Caurel is the nerve center of this mountain range that, due to its difficult access in the past, has managed to preserve a unique natural beauty and extraordinary biodiversity that for years have tried to become a Natural Park. Among them, species as valuable as the wolf, the wild cat, the roe deer and even the brown bear roam freely.

A route through O Courel is a journey back in time to marvel at a Galicia that is slowly disappearing. Its hiking trails are famous for their nature. So, if you go to the O Courel mountain range, do not hesitate to put your hiking boots in the car, because surely you will take a path that goes into a forest to reach a spring, a hermitage or the scene of a mystical story.

Monasterio de Samos

(9km away)

In middle of a lush valley, you will find the Benedictine Abbey of Samos, still an active monastery, the Royal Monastery of San Julián or San Xián. This temple, today Benedictine, is one of the three monasteries that are still inhabited by monks in Galicia. The abbey was founded by San Martiño de Dumio in the 6th century, during the Visigothic period. Its history was related to the refuge of Alfonso II the Chaste before being crowned King of Galicia in 759, who dominated the monastery with the lands. This temple, linked to the great monastic centers of Toledo, has a grandiose Baroque façade that is reminiscent of the staircase on the façade of the Obradoiro de Santiago de Compostela.

The monastery was a school of Theology and Philosophy and is an important stop on the way of St. James, as it has a public hostal.

Inside there are two cloisters: Around one of them, which is covered with a ribbed vault and still preserves a Romanesque façade, revolved all abbey life, kitchen, reflectory and library all open up onto the patio. Those interested can see the many frescoes found in the corridor of one of the cloisters, they also have guided tours.

Monforte de Lemos

(39km away)

Monforte de Lemos is a district in the south of Lugo (Galicia). Capital of the Terra de Lemos region. The Ribeira Sacra is the largest population nucleus in the province, after Lugo.

The district occupies a valley between the Miño and Sil rivers and the city is pierced by the Cabe river. It has always been known as the natural entrance to Galicia from Castilla.

Monforte de Lemos’s history has always been linked to the Monastery of San Vicente del Pino. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Monforte de Lemos achieved international significance due to Don Pedro Fernández de Castro, VII Count of Lemos and Viceroy of Naples. During this time, Cardinal Rodrigo de Castro designed the Nuestra Señora de la Antigua School, an emblematic building of the city, known as the Galician Escorial.

Lugo

(36km away)

Lugo, of Roman origin, was founded in 25 BC. by Paulo Fabio Máximo and is the oldest city in Galicia. Built near a celtic fort, in Roman times it was named after Lucus Augusti. Numerous Roman remains, many of them preserved in the Provincial Museum, are testimony to its first years of history, especially its Roman wall, unique in the world, which preserves its entire perimeter, and which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000.

Lugo’s festivities, the San Froilán Festivities, are one of the most visited in Galicia they last for the first two weeks of October.

Lugo is above all, a city with a splendid Roman past as can be seen in the wall which surrounds it, declared World Heritage Site, in the Thermal Baths or the Roman Bridge. And you should not miss a visit to the Cathedral and the Virgen de los Ojos Grandes, a beautiful medieval polychrome stone carving. And to regain strength, a tapa and a Mencía wine in the busy taverns of the old town.