The monastery of Samos boasts elegant granite cloisters attached to its magnificent church, a mix of gothic, renaissance and baroque styles. The inside walls are decorated with beautiful murals depicting Saint Benedict's life events that replaced the paintings consumed during a fire in the 1950s.
The town of Sarria is amongst the most popular in the camino. It is here that most of the camino routes come together to cover the last 100Km before they reach Santiago. Take the time to visit the town and look at the church of San Salvador, the cruceiro and other local favorites.
- 15 miles (22.5 km)
- 5-6 hours
This stage has two variants, the San Xil and the Samos variant. We will be taking the latter one through the Oribio valley, which is 7km longer. The profile of this stage is downward but fairly flat compared to the large descent to Triacastela from O Cebreiro. The difficulty level for this stage is medium, mainly because of its length.
Description of the stage
In this stage you will be walking along the Oribio valley, one of the most impressive landscapes of the French route, surrounded by the river and lush forests of chestnuts, poplars and oak trees. Halfway through the stage we will visit the benedictine monastery of Samos, the oldest inhabited monastery in Spain, with its impressive cloisters and murals. The day will end with dinner in Sarria, where many of the camino routes come together.