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Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses

bagi9. 06. 2023 12:25:37

We haven't walked here yet, so Camino dos Faros was the main star of our visit to Spain this year. It's still quite unknown to the public, so first some data about it ...

The path doesn't belong to the group of Caminos with final goal in Santiago de Compostela. The common point is only the lighthouse at Cape Finisterre, which crowds of pilgrims visit as a point of cleansing everything old. Here Camino dos Faros actually begins and continues from lighthouse to lighthouse along old connections all the way to the end in the town of Malpica. Where possible it sticks to the edges of the notorious Costa da Morte coast, into which the mighty Atlantic rams powerfully and relentlessly. On this coast more than 600 shipwrecks of all sorts have been recorded through history, including the tanker Prestige in 2002. One reason is the heavily indented coast with numerous cliffs that the stormy sea thoroughly covers and hides from sailors.

The entire path is about 210 km long and has 6,500 m elevation gain, marked with green arrows and dots. No dedicated accommodations, but you can overnight without problem in tourist places for decent money. Data about that and much more useful is on the great website about this path (here).

Our impressions ...

After waves of enthusiasm during 8-day walk some weeks have passed, so I can assess Camino dos Faros more realistically. Don't need many words ... the path is gorgeous, one of the nicest I've walked in Spain. Day not equal to day, always something nice and even nicer. Only constant is endless sea with endless waves that foam and crash against the coast. Exceptional view and exceptional sound backdrop, balm for soul and heart nasmeh

.

Path originally set from Malpica to Finisterre, we did it reverse due to previously walked Camino Inglés (here) and Camino Finisterra (here). This variant perhaps even better due to sun position, only sunburnt on right side not left velik nasmeh

. No special differences in stage lengths or difficulty. Perhaps some marking less visible due to direction, but too few anyway. Path follows numerous fishing paths by coast, where due to lush vegetation not all visible. Markings often faded by sun, sea, wind or missing. Without GPS tracks, we would have questioned the continuation many times.

A bit about difficulty ...

Not an easy Camino. Requires whole person with some fitness, experience and good rain gear. Mainly comfortable waterproof shoes, poncho and rain pants. Needed also for morning dew in dense greenery. Weather by Atlantic quite unpredictable, dry and wet periods can alternate several times a day. This time lucky, no heavy rain, but didn't escape some quick showers. If no strong wind, used umbrella too.

Terrain for walking very varied. Of whole path four days extremely demanding with long mileage and tiring terrain, rest almost promenade. Tiring terrain means up down overgrown thorny fishing paths, often exposed above sea. Can't walk fast here, caution first. Big factor is weather, rain increases difficulty. Asphalt really little, rest paths or gravel nasmeh

. Very different from Camino del Norte, which we expected similar from net descriptions (here).

For conclusion ...

For us one of those paths we can repeat happily without hesitation. Day by day with mouths to ears observing world around velik nasmeh

. Here all senses work and special peace settles in soul. Mighty Atlantic surely main role. Really sad when arrived at final stop in Malpica. So sad we found our walking path to Coruña from where flew home. In short ... walked with pleasure nasmeh

.

Photo stories a bit more this time, exceptionally hard to condense so many impressions into one sensible story. As mentioned, registered can view photos better quality.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Faro de Fisterra, start of a beautiful journey along the Costa da Morte coast

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses This is our first time here, for us it is a path into the unknown

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Soon the character of the path reveals itself. We reach the first beach via narrow paths

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses For tourists, access to the sea is arranged, but the direction leads us over a fence

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses All beaches have notices for visitors. This one is dangerous, swimming is prohibited

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses It is directly exposed to the Atlantic and the waves can be quite high even in calm weather

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Tourists don't walk here :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The path is exposed in many places and caution is not superfluous

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The wilderness through which we walk also somewhat surprises us

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Remains of a sunken vessel on one of the following beaches

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The weather is quite OK, little wind, but the waves are still high

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Another phenomenon that accompanied us for days and days ... salty mists

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses One of the accommodations, which opens only in high season. This time everything is still firmly closed

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses At first glance nothing special, but wet grass is worse for shoes than rain

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses It is beautiful here, around every bend there is something new

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Another one of the lighthouses on the Camino dos Faros path

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses View back. The path is routed through every single nook where possible.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Muxía and the church Virxe da Barca. A few years ago it burned down, now it is fully restored.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses A Ferida, monument to the Prestige tanker shipwreck which sank not far from here.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Beautiful village Muxía from the local hill Monte do Corpiño. Overnighting in this village.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses New morning, new day...

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Meeting Andreja from Czechia, and for a few hours we share the path.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Another of the beautiful beaches. It is early and a special peace prevails over the surroundings.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses There is no wind, yet the waves tirelessly pound the shore.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses No other way. We walk on the sand and feel like walking on quicksand :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Lighthouse follows lighthouse. There are many mainly due to the rugged coast and numerous reefs.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses On one side a promenade for tourists, on the other boats of local fishermen.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Fishing gear. In these parts octopus is highly valued, pulpa in Spanish.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Every slightly larger village has a sheltered harbor that protects boats from the rough sea

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Some nevertheless preferred to stay on land :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The path continues along the coast …

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The weather has been friendly to us for some time and we have nothing against it :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses But the weather can turn bad in an instant, which has already happened to us several times

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Here the atmosphere is already slightly mystical, like from some movie :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses For me the most beautiful lighthouse on the entire trail

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Faro de cabo Villano from 1890, today a museum

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Path … endless, mysterious, unknown. Just our style :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We cross another beach. The weather is slightly deteriorating, but nothing serious

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses another view back at the traversed path

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Rain appears at the most inconvenient moment, just as we cross the exposed section

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Uninhabited fishing village. Fishing equipment is stored here

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses There are also some boats in the harbor, on land however more skiffs

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Hard to imagine, but these mega rocks are right by the sea

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Everything is eroded, polished. No doubt, there was once sea here

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses First we thought it was some sort of chapel. It turns out it's a weekend house :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Smaller fishing settlement …

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses In these parts there are lots of green buildings, probably to blend in with the environment

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Greenery is everywhere around us. Never have I walked through so much fern at once in my life :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Another village, a bit touristy, a bit fishing. We will sleep here

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Photo of beautiful nasturtiums to say goodbye to the day ;). They are everywhere here and grow like weeds.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Morning. The boats gently rock on the water surface. Everything is calm, silence caresses the ears.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses It will be a nice day. The sun is already pampering us early :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses No one anywhere. Just us two and some stray dog …

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Temperature is rising and the first mists are forming. Magical moments …

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Soon we enter the area of vast dunes, even a river arm is found among them.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Here the same river joins the sea in numerous meanders.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Surprise par excellence :). We meet Slovenian Uroš, who is walking the same path in the opposite direction.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses View of the wonderful beach from a nearby hillock.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The continuation goes here. Camino dos Faros has no shortcuts, we will definitely go around the cape.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We follow a nice macadam where we rest our feet from the numerous narrow paths.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Indeed we go around the cape. The path is nicely arranged, mainly because of the proximity of the tourist town.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses This is a staple along the entire coast. Many fishermen catch fish right by the shore in the foaming water.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Lighthouse at the end of the cape, but it's too high to get into the photo :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses As befits tourism, there is a mandatory promenade along the coast.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Example of how high waves during storms penetrate thick deposits of century-old dunes.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses For a while we retreat from the impassable coast …

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The path brings us back to fields of ferns. Luckily no ticks, otherwise we'd have some for export :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Soon we descend to yet another hidden gem. Here we take time for a longer rest.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Supplies are almost gone and we will definitely stop here.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses There is so much fish that they catch it with a digger :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses A more traditional boat stands alone :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We were just there …

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses There are quite a few stone crosses along the entire coast; they mark areas of shipwrecks with many victims

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Today's day is so full of beautiful impressions that even the weather decided to cooperate with us :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Ancient village forgotten by the world. Yet people still live there

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Interesting lighthouse, its lower part resembles the bow of a ship sailing towards the sea

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses On narrow, often thorny paths we constantly descend and ascend

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We're again on a somewhat more exposed crossing over a small rise

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses But precisely from such rises we get at least an approximate glimpse of the continuation

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Coastal boardwalk over the dunes. When it ends, we have to walk right through the sand

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Here a larger river empties into the sea. No bridge, so we cross it wading :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Luckily it's low tide and we wade it without trouble. Higher up the river is much livelier

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses For a short while we leave the coast again due to an impassable section

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses But we soon return. Due to the undulating terrain we usually have no idea what comes next

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Many a beach is hidden from view and some exploit it to the full :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses You only find out how beautiful this path can be once you walk it :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses For long days we walk along the coast and the conclusion slowly approaches

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Malpica, end or start point of Camino dos Faros. Sniff, sniff … we just go on :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses I map out my own coastal path all the way to Corunja. We name it … Camino de Emilio :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The coast is no longer as indented as on previous days, but there are still plenty of beautiful beaches everywhere.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We overnight here, the owner is a hotelier with heart and soul :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Occasionally the weather hinders us with quick showers, but they usually subside soon.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We even pass by a football pitch and to top it off it's nicely arranged.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Low tide again, the rocks are dry and locals are gathering shellfish then.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Something for us. A shower is just brewing and rest will be more than welcome.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses In about an hour the rain has eased a bit so we go on.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Well, no point putting away the rain gear :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses As already many times before, it clears up just in the right moments :)

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses On this additional path there are no more so many fishing trails, gravel and asphalt have replaced them.

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses There are so many beaches you can't count them. Where there are no tourist facilities they are more for locals.

100

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses A heavy shower is approaching again, so we quickly don our rain gear.

101

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses In front of the megalomaniac telescope. Approaching the largest city so far on the entire coastal path.

102

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Arteixo, town with extensive steel industry. We turn here to restock supplies.

103

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Besides visiting the shop it also includes coffee in the nearby café, bakery and patisserie … all in one :)

104

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We often notice garage-like structures for storing fishing equipment.

105

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses This one came straight from the sea to get photographed with us :)

106

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Now it's getting serious. The final, this time really final goal is approaching :)

107

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Coruña, the most populous city in the province of Galicia.

108

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses For miles around there is a promenade for walkers and cyclists, even runners have their own path.

109

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses The lighthouse of all lighthouses, 57 m high Torre de Hércules and also our final goal

110

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We have walked it all, gained so much … satisfied, happy, enthusiastic :)

111

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We continue sightseeing the coastal parts of the city. In the background 80 m high maritime surveillance tower

112

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Soon we will be in the city centre proper, where we also stayed overnight last time

113

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses We conclude this story. We are at the airport in Coruña, where we also started this year's trail

114

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Sniff, sniff … just a little longer, and we will fly home …

115

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses A long journey awaits us. I would swap it immediately for a few more weeks of hiking :)

116

Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses Visiting Venice, looking for the car and driving home. See you next time :)

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Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses RED track - Camino dos Faros = 210 km / 6500 elevation gain, VIOLET track - addition = 70 km / 2000 elevation gain

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(+17)

panda12. 06. 2023 07:55:24

congrats to both, both for the "feat" as well as nice pics and trip report. nasmeh

(+3)

piotr12. 06. 2023 09:44:39

Great, as always. nasmeh

(+2)

gely12. 06. 2023 11:53:18

congrats to both .... nice description and pics nasmeh

(+2)

mosovnik12. 06. 2023 12:55:31

@bagi:"all hats off"!!! My respects to.....I've been twice on Camino Frances (1x bike, 1x on foot) so hopefully I can somewhat imagine your feats. I'm thinking about La Plata, wish you all good and especially keep liking each other and delight us ordinary mortals with new trip reports that take our breath away.

(+6)

bagi13. 06. 2023 12:14:44

Thanks everyone nasmeh

. If anyone needs info on this or any other of our trails, ask me without hesitation. Wherever you are, above all enjoy nasmeh

(+3)

jvali22. 03. 2025 23:20:10

@bagi (Emil), hello! Can't believe it! I have this camino chosen for this year's vacation and while browsing for useful info, I stumble on your report. Again, and again insanely cool! Congrats first to both you and your wife. My husband and I are also heading there this year and looking for a flight ticket. Found Zagreb - LaCoruna. Did you fly like that too? After last year's Camino Frances which I walked alone for my 5x10, now going again as a couple, like for Camino Primitivo, Fisterra and Muxia and Camino Portuguese coastal route. No other option but July, are membrane shoes really necessary, since I'm used to walking without? And about accommodations, can all be arranged on the go - given this lighthouse path isn't like classic other caminos. Since I have your private number, can send some questions there too? You two have an infinitely nice time too. Buen Camino. Thanks.

(+3)

geppo23. 03. 2025 08:24:36

Again something interesting cool

Mateja's knees? Seems they held up.
best regards

(+1)

bagi23. 03. 2025 09:45:39

No Geppo, this post is from 2023 velik nasmeh

. Just canceled flight tickets for this year's Spain, because Mateja's knees are far from ready for such paths. Maybe next year ...

Valerija, of course you can call me nasmeh

. As for shoes take what suits you. Regarding wetness there is lots of morning dew and daily showers. Maybe June is different, but Atlantic has its laws. But Camino dos Faros is one of the nicest paths I've walked in Spain and there are many.

(+4)

geppo23. 03. 2025 12:21:32

Emil, sorry I overlooked the date.
I was glad thinking knees already OK.
Mateja, hope for quickest recovery, know it's tough for you.
best regards

(+1)

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Camino dos Faros - Path of the Lighthouses