19,4 kmDistance+300 mAscent−360 mDescent22,4 kmEffort7 hTime needed · On foot
Monte do Gozo and the Obradoiro
The last stage is 19.4 kilometres with 300 metres of ascent and low difficulty, but you walk it in a different frame of mind. You leave O Pedrouzo back to the route and are soon in eucalyptus woods, through San Antón and Amenal, with a climb up to Cimadevila; the route then skirts Lavacolla airport on tracks, passes San Paio and drops to Lavacolla, where medieval pilgrims washed in the river before presenting themselves in Santiago.
From Lavacolla you climb through Vilamaior, now among housing estates, to the Monte do Gozo at about kilometre fifteen: from the monument at the top you see the cathedral towers for the first time, small and far away. What remains is city: down to San Lázaro, over the motorway and in along the Rúa dos Concheiros and San Pedro to the Porta do Camiño, the historic entrance to the old town. Through Casas Reais, the Praza de Cervantes and the Acibechería you reach the Obradoiro by the tunnel under the Xelmírez palace, almost always with bagpipes playing.
The Camino ends in the square. The Pilgrim's Office, on Rúa Carretas, a step away, issues the Compostela on the strength of your stamped credential; the pilgrim mass is in the cathedral at midday, and Santiago has everything, at any hour, to celebrate with.
Tips
Set off in daylight and without hurrying: from the Monte do Gozo to the square there are still four or five kilometres of city that feel like more.
Get your departure stamp in O Pedrouzo, a stamp on the way in Lavacolla or at the Monte do Gozo, and your arrival stamp at the Pilgrim's Office: those are the four stamps of the parchment's final stage.
In season there are queues at the Pilgrim's Office; if you arrive mid-morning, go there first and come back to the square afterwards.
You cannot take a backpack into the cathedral; there are lockers near the Pilgrim's Office and in the old town.
The embrace of the Apostle and the visit to the crypt have set hours and queues: do it in the afternoon, unhurried.
Where am I?
Your phone says where you are; the guide tells you how far is left and where the next water is.
Your position is used to answer you and is not stored anywhere.
Walk with me
It crosses where you are with the time, the daylight left, the water, the beds and the notice board. Three things at most: the ones that actually change your afternoon.
112 is the same number in Spain, in Portugal and across the European Union. It works with no credit, with no SIM, and over any operator's network, not just yours.
Say where you are
I am walking the Camino Francés, on the stage from O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela.