El Ganso

El Ganso sits in the province of Leon in the Maragateria region, on the way from Astorga to Rabanal del Camino. The village name simply means The Goose, with various local etymological explanations. The Camino passes through the heart of the village.

El Ganso retains the typical Maragato stone vernacular: thick-walled stone houses with low doorways and small windows. Older houses had thatched roofs (one of the last places in the Maragateria where this tradition survived), though most have now been replaced with tile or slate. The parish church of Santiago has medieval origins. The village has been a Camino stop since the Middle Ages, a small farming and muleteer settlement on the road to the mountain pass at Foncebadon.

Services in El Ganso are limited but include albergues, a bar-restaurant, the famous Cowboy Bar (Meson Cowboy), and a small shop. There is no pharmacy or ATM. The Cowboy Bar, decorated in elaborate western kitsch, stands out among Camino bars and lingers in many pilgrim memories.