Montefurado (invierno)

Camino de Invierno

To end of camino
187.7
Altitude
241

Alvaredos

2.80

Montefurado (invierno)

1.00

Hermidon

Twenty people live here now, but the monumental 18th century Iglesia de San Michael was built for hundreds. Montefurado is a testament to glories long past, when this town was a crossroads for carters carrying ore, honey, wine, and vines from here to all parts of Spain. Evidence of even older importance can be seen farther along the river valley, where a smaller set of exposed mountain innards and a hole blown through a riverside rock-face are remnants of more 2nd-century Roman ingenuity: the miners shifted the course of the río Sil in their search for gold. The village is built atop a maze of ancient tunnels, now used for storing wine and cheese.

Fountain next to church.

A 2018 pilgrim reports that there is a Centro Social near the church. If it is open, you can probably get a drink here.

Montefurado has a train station. One train a day, in the morning, runs between A Rúa and Quiroga. It has a stop in Montefurado. Similarly, there is a daily train between Quiroga and A Rúa, but it runs in the late afternoon.

The Road

Using the Train to Create Short Stages.

If your intention is to divide the approximately 40 km between O Barco and Quiroga, and if you also want to stop in A Rúa (a mere 14 km from O Barco), here is one way to divide the two stages more evenly:

Day 1: walk from O Barco to A Rúa (14 km). Check into your accommodation and drop your pack. Walk on to Montefurado and then catch the 18.14 train back to A Rúa (just 10 minutes). This would give you plenty of time for a visit with the delightful Casimiro. The train back to A Rúa leaves from the middle platform, but one peregrina on the wrong platform reported that the train patiently waited for her to get to the right track.

Day 2: As you walked to Montefurado the day before, now catch the 10.03 train from A Rúa, get off at Montefurado (just 9 minutes), and continue on to Quiroga.

These two stages would be roughly the same distance.

Now that the apartments in Soldón are available, it would also make sense to walk from O Barco or A Rúa to Soldón in one day, although the next day’s stage from Soldón to Quiroga would be pretty short.

A waymarked trail leads out of Montefurado along a green path upward. If bad weather makes a mess of the path, you can find the car access from Montefurado to the LU-933, which also takes you uphill to the village of Hermidón. As of 2019, a large portion of the walk to Bendilló has been taken off-road and now goes through nice forested areas.

City Map

Comments

Camino de Sant… (not verified)

The train from Montefurado to A Rua leaves at leaves at 17:59, arriving at A Rua 9 minutes later.

If the 07:09 train to Montefurado is a bit early for you ( you wouldn't get any breakfast) there is a bus, also from the railway station, timetabled at 8:15 but which usually rolls up 10 to 15 minutes later. It drops you on the main highway which bypasses Montefurado, but a small lane takes you down and under the railway line and then doubles back towards the village from where you head for the church and the trail uphill.

Camino de Sant…

The train times are out of date!!

Camino de Sant…

Now showing time of 7.09am

Camino de Sant…

The train times are out of date!!

Camino de Sant…

Now showing time of 7.09am