Caldas de Reis to Padrón
Arrival
- Distance
- 19 km
- Climb
- 220 m up, 235 m down
- Ground
- 20 to 135 m
- Time
- 5 to 6 hours
- Difficulty
- easy
- Underfoot
- forest, dirt, paved, cobblestone
Where this day sits on the Camino Portugués
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 11 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
This is the day you meet the legend. In Padrón, beneath the altar of the church of Santiago, rests the pedrón — the stone pillar to which, the story says, the disciples moored the boat carrying the body of Saint James from Jerusalem. The town's name comes from the stone. Pilgrims touch it. Some weep. Others stand very still with their hands resting on centuries of worn granite. The last piece of the legend arrives under your hand. Tomorrow you walk to Santiago itself, but something has already arrived today.
What pilgrims often meet here
- Touching the pedrón under the altar at the Igrexa de Santiago in Padrón
- Pimientos de Padrón — the local green peppers, some spicy, some not
- A quiet afternoon in Padrón knowing tomorrow is the last day
- The Rosalía de Castro museum, if you have the energy
What piece of your own story have you been waiting to touch with your own hands?
The ground
The light
Sunrise and sunset in Caldas de Reis depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
Pilgrim doesn't carry the Camino Portugués as a route yet. You can still walk it with the app in Wander mode, speaking what arises and keeping it on your phone.