Gondán to Mondoñedo
Lourenzá and Mondoñedo
- Distance
- 15.6 km
- Climb
- 340 m up, 330 m down
- Ground
- 120 to 430 m
- Time
- 4 to 5 hours
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Underfoot
- forest, dirt, paved, mountain
Where this day sits on the Camino del Norte
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 34 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
Today you pass two medieval foundations in one stage. First, Vilanova de Lourenzá — the village grew up around the Benedictine Monasterio de San Salvador de Lourenzá, founded around 969 by Count Osorio Gutiérrez, the 'Conde Santo' or Holy Count, whose tomb rests inside the chapel of Valdeflores in a 6th-century Paleochristian marble sarcophagus from Aquitaine. Then, after the climb over Alto da Xesta, you descend into Mondoñedo — one of the 'seven capital cities' of Galicia, small medieval episcopal seats that together governed Galicia before the modern province of A Coruña was established. Its cathedral is 13th-century Gothic with a 15th-century cloister and a museum of medieval choir books. The local specialty is tarta de Mondoñedo, a sweet almond cake. Stop, rest, walk the cloister, buy a tarta.
What pilgrims often meet here
- The San Salvador de Lourenzá monastery appearing among the fields at Vilanova de Lourenzá
- Standing in the chapel of Valdeflores at Lourenzá looking at the Holy Count's Paleochristian sarcophagus
- First Gothic cathedral since Laredo
- The Mondoñedo cloister — tiny but perfect
- Tarta de Mondoñedo at a local pastry shop
- The quiet of the medieval square in the afternoon
A small city was once a capital. What does smallness mean when it is built with weight?
The ground
Short day into Mondoñedo, one of the historical seven 'capital' cities of Galicia and an episcopal see. Passes through Vilanova de Lourenzá with its imposing Benedictine monastery (San Salvador de Lourenzá, founded c. 969). Climbs out of the Lourenzá valley over the Alto da Xesta before dropping into Mondoñedo, whose 13th-century Gothic cathedral is small but important.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Gondán depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
In Pilgrim's Honor mode you can walk this stage as it is drawn here, and save its maps for days with no signal. The morning opens with this day's word, Lourenzá and Mondoñedo, and its story. When you arrive, it asks the question above, and you can answer out loud. Your walk stays on your phone.
With Pilgrim on your phone, this opens the stage, ready to begin. Without it, you'll see the stage and where to get the app.