Vilanova de Arousa
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Vilanova de Arousa
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Vilanova de Arousa
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Vilanova de Arousa
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Plans in Vilanova
Camino de Santiago
If you want to live the experience of pilgrimages, in Vilanova de Arousa you will find a strategic enclave. The municipality is the end and beginning of the stage, both for the Spiritual Route of the Camino de Santiago and the Route of Padre Sarmiento. In both cases, you will have the opportunity to get to know the only sea-river Way of the Cross in the world following the route that, according to legend, the remains of the Apostle Jame took on the journey from Haffa (Palestine) to Compostela.
To do this, you will have to take a boat at the Mar de Santiago Ferry Terminal. From there, you can see the up to 17 stone crosse at the foot of the estuary and the Ulla River that commemorate the passage of the remains of the Apostle through the area. In addition to its cultural importance, the journey will surprise you with its impressive natural landscapes of enormous beauty. Once you have disembarked at the river port of Pontecesures, you can continue your pilgrimage to the Galician capital by following the Portuguese Way.
To do this, you will have to take a boat at the Mar de Santiago Ferry Terminal. From there, you can see the up to 17 stone crosse at the foot of the estuary and the Ulla River that commemorate the passage of the remains of the Apostle through the area. In addition to its cultural importance, the journey will surprise you with its impressive natural landscapes of enormous beauty. Once you have disembarked at the river port of Pontecesures, you can continue your pilgrimage to the Galician capital by following the Portuguese Way.
Spiritual Route of the Portuguese Way
With a length of 73 kilometres, the Spiritual Route offers you an alternative to the Portuguese Way, entering the region of O Salnés. In its three stages you will combine both the passage through historical and cultural places of great importance and exceptional natural spaces.
Vilanova de Arousa is the end of the second stage and the starting point of the third and last stage. From the Monastery of Armenteira, you will walk through vineyards, forests at the foot of the river and, once in the estuary, the Vilanova sandy areas of As Sinas and O Terrón. Here you will reach the municipal capital and then take a boat for pilgrims with which you will go up the Ulla River – just as the remains of the Apostle Santiago did – admiring the variety of the 17 hundred-year-old stone crosses at the foot of the estuary and river course until you reach Pontecesures. From the river port of Cesures you will resume the journey along the Portuguese Way to Compostela.
You can find more information about the peculiarities of this route on the Vilanova Tourism website or on this itinerary’s website.
You can find more information about the peculiarities of this route on the Vilanova Tourism website or on this itinerary’s website.
Route of the Sea of Arousa and Ulla River
This Jacobean Route stands out for its unique sea-river combination. With the ports of O Grove and Ribeira as starting points, this itinerary, which includes 22 municipalities in the provinces of Pontevedra and A Coruña, has Vilanova de Arousa as one of its stopping points.
The origin of this journey is to be found in the Codex Calixtinus, the book par excellence of pilgrimages, which narrates how the remains of the Apostle James were transferred from Jaffa (Palestine) to the West, where the faithful disciple had carried out his evangelizing work. Legend has it that his remains arrived at the Arousa estuary in a stone boat and then went up the Ulla River until they reached Padrón, at that time the river port of the Roman city of Iria Flavia.
This tradition has survived to the present day and, currently, the Route of the Sea of Arousa and Río Ulla has its own diploma accrediting having completed the Traslatio Xacobea. This document is obtained after completing the Navigation Booklet of the Ruta Xacobea do Mar de Arousa e Ulla Foundation. The final accreditation will be obtained, after completing the last stamp of said booklet, to be obtained in the town of Padrón.
To find out more about this unique tour, click here.
This tradition has survived to the present day and, currently, the Route of the Sea of Arousa and Río Ulla has its own diploma accrediting having completed the Traslatio Xacobea. This document is obtained after completing the Navigation Booklet of the Ruta Xacobea do Mar de Arousa e Ulla Foundation. The final accreditation will be obtained, after completing the last stamp of said booklet, to be obtained in the town of Padrón.
To find out more about this unique tour, click here.
Route of Father Sarmiento
This itinerary recalls the journey made by Fray Martín Sarmiento to Santiago de Compostela, when he returned to Galicia on the occasion of the celebration of the Holy Year of 1745. The peculiarity of this route is based on the combination of experiences it offers as it passes through the region of O Salnés, mixing religious architecture, historical remains, food and wine, and exceptional natural landscapes.
Starting in the town of Poio in Pontevedra, the 190-kilometre route will take you through the region of O Salnés, along the coast. The sixth stage of this route ends in Vilanova de Arousa, after crossing the Carreirón Natural Park and discovering the coast of the town at the foot of O Terrón Beach.
At the beginning of the seventh stage you have two possibilities: continue the route to Compostela along the Spiritual Route of the Camino, or continue on foot. In the first case, you can go up the Ulla River by boat to Pontecures, following the Traslatio itinerary.
In the second case, you will enter the landscapes of Vilagarcía de Arousa, and then head to Padrón. At this point, the route merges with the Portuguese Way to the Cathedral of Compostela, recalling the route taken by Father Sarmiento on his return to Galicia in the mid-eighteenth century, to obtain the Jubilee.
If you want to discover in detail all the possibilities offered by this itinerary, we recommend that you visit the Vilanova Tourism website, or this route’s own website.
At the beginning of the seventh stage you have two possibilities: continue the route to Compostela along the Spiritual Route of the Camino, or continue on foot. In the first case, you can go up the Ulla River by boat to Pontecures, following the Traslatio itinerary.
In the second case, you will enter the landscapes of Vilagarcía de Arousa, and then head to Padrón. At this point, the route merges with the Portuguese Way to the Cathedral of Compostela, recalling the route taken by Father Sarmiento on his return to Galicia in the mid-eighteenth century, to obtain the Jubilee.
If you want to discover in detail all the possibilities offered by this itinerary, we recommend that you visit the Vilanova Tourism website, or this route’s own website.