O Cebreiro

O Cebreiro is one of the most mythologised places on the entire Camino. Perched at 1,300 metres in the Galician mountains, this tiny village of pallozas (ancient Celtic round stone houses with thatched roofs) marks the crossing from Spain into Galicia and the final 153 kilometres to Santiago. For pilgrims who have walked from the Pyrenees, arriving here through the mountain mist is a profoundly emotional experience.

The Romanesque church of Santa María la Real is one of the oldest on the Camino and contains relics associated with the Holy Grail. The story tells of a miraculous appearance of Christ during Mass here, and the chalice and paten used are kept in the church. Whether one takes this literally or not, the church has an atmosphere of extraordinary age and gravity.

Galicia begins here, and everything changes: the language, the food, the landscape, the light, the smell of eucalyptus, the sound of bagpipes. After weeks of Castilian plains and mountains, the green lushness of Galicia and the knowledge that Santiago is only a few days away creates a particular mix of joy and melancholy.