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Walking the Camino dos Faros

The Way of the Lighthouses on Spain's Galician coast

By John Hayes

ISBN

9781852849719

Availability

Published

11 Oct 2019

Edition

First

Pages

120

Size

17.20 x 11.60 x .80cm

Weight

140g

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Guidebook to walking the Camino dos Faros, the way of the lighthouses, along the Galician coast in northwest Spain. The 200km route is described across 8 stages of between 17 and 29km and takes in some of the area's most wild and enchanting coastal scenery, with dramatic cliffs and deep river estuaries. Incorporates some challenging walking.

Seasons

With mild temperatures the Camiño dos Faros is potentially an all-season walk, although it can be very wet underfoot in the winter. The best time to walk it is April, May and June, when the light and the flowers are wonderful.

Centres

Malpica, Corme, Ponteceso, Laxe, Camelle, Arou, Camariñas, Muxía, Praia de Nemiña, Fisterra

Difficulty

The Camiño dos Faros is a safe walk requiring no technical expertise. The main challenge is daily distance, but this can moderated by taking shortcuts along this very bendy route.

Must See

Galician culture and traditions; lighthouses along the Costa da Morte; Faro Vilán, the oldest electric lighthouse in Spain; Michelin starred restaurant As Garzas; dramatic cliffs and spectacular unspoilt coastal scenery; varied and rare birdlife; old whaling towns and fishing villages.

ISBN

9781852849719

Availability

Published

11 Oct 2019

Edition

First

Pages

120

Size

17.20 x 11.60 x .80cm

Weight

140g

Overview

This guidebook explores the Camiño dos Faros (the Way of the Lighthouses), a 200km hike around the remote northwest corner of Spain. Starting in the old whaling town of Malpica and ending in Fisterra (Spain's Land's End), the eight day hike along the Costa da Morte follows a path that sticks limpet-like to the Atlantic coast. It's a spectacular walk along dramatic cliffs and around deep, verdant river estuaries, exploring the rich Galician culture and history. With stages between 18 and 29km per day, this is a hike suitable for walkers willing to undertake reasonably long days and the occasional scramble up and down beach paths.

The guide provides in-depth descriptions of the route alongside clear mapping to aid navigation. It includes practical information for both before and during your trip, and details about wildlife and historic sites along the walk. In the back of the guide are a series of appendices listing accommodation, main Galician festivals, and useful contacts.

The Camiño dos Faros follows the wild coast of the Costa da Morte, which is battered by storms racing in from the Atlantic. For shipping it is one of the world's most dangerous coastlines and its ominous name meaning 'the coast of death' is well deserved. 'Dos Faros' refers to a series of beautifully located lighthouses that attempt to warn sailors of the perils that await them. The sea has shaped the landscape and the Galician culture, and the locally caught seafood including razor clams and percebes should not be missed.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Map key

Overview map

Route summary table

Introduction

Camiño dos Faros – a Galician coastal walk

Camiño dos Faros and the sea

The Costa da Morte

Flora and fauna

What’s the walking like?

The eight day schedule

Food and accommodation

Planning your walk

Getting there

What to take

Finding your way

Using this guide

Camiño dos Faros

Stage 1 Malpica to Praia de Niñóns

Stage 2 Praia de Niñóns to Ponteceso

Stage 3 Ponteceso to Laxe

Stage 4 Laxe to Arou

Stage 5 Arou to Camariñas

Stage 6 Camariñas to Muxía

Stage 7 Muxía to Praia de Nemiña

Stage 8 Praia de Nemiña to Cabo Fisterra

Appendix A Trek planning table

Appendix B Accommodation

Appendix C Main Galician festivals

Appendix D Useful contacts

Updates

July 2022

Stage 1

For those planning lunch on Stage 1 the Bar Xan and Restaurant Seiruga were recently reported as closed, although the Restaurant Seiruga may open in the summer

June 2022

Author updates

p35 - the Restuarant O Xan - the best place en route to buy a sandwich - is now closed, so if not stopping for a meal at either of the other two restaurants buy a sandwich in Malpica.

p65 - the cafe at the lighthouse Faro de Cabo Vilan is shut so buy a sandwich at Arou.

November 2021

Reader suggestions

One of our customers, Ferdinand, walked the route in early October and while he enjoyed excellent weather, made a number of points that should be considered if walking late in the year and out of the holiday season.

Firstly he found a number of the bars and lunch spots mentioned in the guide closed - this may be a seasonal thing or it may be that some of these businesses haven't survived Covid. In particular, the Michelin starred As Garvas was shut on Monday (many Spanish restaurants if they open on Sunday shut on Monday) and the Bar Xan looks like its closure might be more permanent.

He also discovered that in October there is no direct bus from A Coruna to Malpica at the weekend and that you need to change at Carballo, something not mentioned in the guide. The guide does recommend that travel arrangements are checked using the wonderful RometoRio website and this usually provides up-to-date information direct from the operators' websites.

Ferdinand also speculated that it would be possible to cut across the Rio Grande at low tide after Praia do Arino and avoid some of the inland track to Ponte do Porte and indeed the whole river bed is used by locals to harvest shellfish. This is not the recommended route however as far as Camino dos Faros Association is concerned although they do identify other low tide shortcuts later in the walk.

The GR white-red waymarkers have not yet been installed and the trail still uses the green markers, but Ferdinand found the GPX traces generally accurate and helpful.

Despite the out of season feel, Ferdinand recommends the route in October and, although there are some closures, helpfully found some previously unidentified and recommended accommodation after Cereixo - the Casa Rural de Cereixo (www.casaruraldecereixo.com) .

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Downloads

Walking the Camino dos Faros - GPX File

John Hayes

John Hayes is a retired management consultant with degrees from Liverpool University and University College London. Immediately after finishing work in 2011 he embarked on an epic 5,000km trek across Europe, walking from Tarifa in Spain to Budapest. John has written for numerous walking and trekking magazines, and has written four walking guides and a cycling guide for Cicerone.

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