The Ribeira Sacra is home to more than twenty historic monasteries, though only a handful survive today. Seven mark the stages of O Camiño do Monxe’s 9-day route — San Paio de Abeleda, Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil, Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil (now a National Parador), San Pedro de Rocas (Galicia’s oldest monastic site, dating to 573), Santa María de Xunqueira de Espadañedo, Santa María de Montederramo and San Juan de Camba — while the 5-day route, a shorter Ribeira Sacra hiking option, passes three of them: San Paio de Abeleda, Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil and Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil.
In our last post we told the story of the monks who gave the Ribeira Sacra its name. Today it’s time to focus on the stone protagonists themselves — the monasteries that, for over a thousand years, have shaped the spiritual, economic and scenic pulse of this region.
Each one has its own history, its own founding century still debated by historians, and its own more or less direct connection to the hiking routes that cross the area, such as O Camiño do Monxe, and also to the **Camino de Santiago**, since part of the **Camino de Invierno** also runs through areas of the Ribeira Sacra.
San Paio de Abeleda: the Monastery that refuses to disappear
This is the first monastery you’ll find on O Camiño do Monxe, on both the 5-day and 9-day routes, between Castro Caldelas and Fábrica da Luz, on the way to Val de Abeleda.
Historians disagree on its origins. Some place it in the 10th century, when the family of the nobleman San Rosendo is documented as the landowner; others prefer to date it to the 12th century, when the church still standing today was built.
What we do know for certain is its decline. Mendizábal’s confiscation laws in the 19th century left it without a religious community, though its church remained a parish. In 1872 it was acquired by the House of Alba, and in 1972 it closed permanently to worship.
Today, San Paio de Abeleda is a Romanesque ruin of strange beauty, its original doorway and capitals — carved with plant and animal motifs — still visible, surrounded by vineyards and silence.
Thanks to local non-profit associations, the site is kept minimally preserved, preventing it from disappearing altogether.
Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil: romanesque architecture embracing the river
The second day of O Camiño do Monxe leads to one of the most admired Romanesque complexes in all of inland Galicia: the Monastery of Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil, in the Merilán chestnut grove beside the River Sil, in the municipality of Parada de Sil. Its origins are, again, uncertain. Some documents suggest a community of hermits was already present in the 9th or 10th century, while the current church — one of the finest examples of rural Galician Romanesque — dates from the late 12th to early 13th century.
For centuries it was an independent Benedictine monastery, until in 1508 it was reduced to a priory dependent on Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil, following a monastic reform that reorganised much of Galicia’s monastic life. That change in status marked the start of its decline. The confiscation of 1835 turned it into a simple, privately owned farm.
Today the church, the tower and part of the cloister survive, minimally restored and open to the public. You can still see the so-called armarium claustri — niches in the wall where the monks kept their books — along with capitals carved with plant motifs that have survived eight centuries intact.
Nearby, several viewpoints, such as Cabezoás, let you take in the Sil canyon from above before continuing the route.
Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil: from refuge of nine bishops to National Parador
The third stage of O Camiño do Monxe in 9 days ends at one of the great icons of the Ribeira Sacra: Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil. On the 5-day route, this is the high point and the finish line of the three hiking stages.
It’s the most monumental monastery in the whole Ribeira Sacra. Tradition attributes its origins to San Martiño de Dumio in the 6th century, although the first documented reference dates to the year 921, when King Ordoño II handed the site — then in ruins — to Abbot Franquila to rebuild monastic life there.
The monastery became famous in the 10th and 11th centuries thanks to a curious legend: nine Galician bishops, some fleeing the Muslim advance and others simply seeking a peaceful retreat, settled here to spend their final years. On their deaths, each left his bishop’s ring as an offering to the monastery, and all were buried in what’s now known as the Cloister of the Bishops, today one of the building’s most photographed corners.
After the reform of the Catholic Monarchs in 1499, the monastery passed to the Congregation of San Benito and began a deep architectural transformation that continued until the 18th century, giving rise to the three cloisters that coexist under one roof today: Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance. Declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1923 and a Site of Cultural Interest in 1985, the building was restored in the late 20th century and reopened in 2004 as a National Parador de Turismo, with 77 rooms spread across its former cloisters.
This is where those hiking O Camiño do Monxe in 5 days spend their final night — or one of the intermediate nights if hiking O Camiño do Monxe in 9 days. Yes, you’ll sleep among the very stones that once sheltered bishops, monks and hermits.
San Pedro de Rocas: the cradle of Galician Monasticism
On the 5-day route, San Pedro de Rocas falls outside the walking trail, while on O Camiño do Monxe in 9 days it becomes the highlight of the fourth stage, between Santo Estevo and Esgos. After a steep climb from Santo Estevo, the trail reaches this extraordinary site.
Carved directly into the granite rock of Mount Barbeirón, in the municipality of Esgos (Ourense), San Pedro de Rocas is considered the oldest monastic complex in Galicia and one of the oldest in Spain. A founding inscription found at the site itself, now kept at the Archaeological Museum of Ourense, dates its origins to the year 573, when five hermit monks withdrew here to live a life of solitary prayer.
Its three naves, carved straight into the rock, lack the elegance of later Romanesque temples — they’re rough, primitive, almost earthbound. And that roughness is precisely its greatest treasure, because here you can literally touch the skin of the oldest monasticism on the Iberian Peninsula.
The site was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1923 and today houses a Ribeira Sacra interpretation centre in the former 17th-century prior’s house.
Santa María de Xunqueira de Espadañedo: a Stop with medieval flavour
The fifth stage of O Camiño do Monxe in 9 days, between Esgos and Maceda, takes you to one of the lesser-known monasteries of the Ribeira Sacra: Santa María de Xunqueira de Espadañedo. Its history has left a fascinating mix of architectural styles, from Romanesque to Baroque.
This Cistercian monastery began as an early medieval community that became Benedictine in the 12th century. By the end of that same century it joined the Cistercian order, linked to the nearby monastery of Montederramo.
From the medieval period, its basilica-plan church survives, with three naves and semicircular apses.
The current altarpieces also reflect the monastery’s evolution and the influence of the Counter-Reformation. The iconography centres on the Virgin Mary and the celebration of Western monasticism, represented by Saint Benedict of Nursia and Saint Bernard in the Baroque altarpieces.
Santa María de Montederramo: the spiritual heart of the Ribeira Sacra
The sixth stage of O Camiño do Monxe in 9 days runs from Maceda to Montederramo and ends at the Monastery of Santa María de Montederramo.
Considered the spiritual heart and one of the most important monasteries in the whole Ribeira Sacra, Montederramo marks the long route’s great leap into the interior of the region. The monastery’s documented history goes back to a charter dated 21 August 1124, granted in Allariz by Doña Teresa of Portugal. In it, the infanta granted Abbot Arnaldo and the Benedictine monks accompanying him a place called Rivoira Sacrata (or Roboira Sacrata) to found a monastery there, also reserving the monks’ right to relocate if they considered it more convenient. That first settlement wasn’t in today’s town of Montederramo, but near Leboreiro, in the area of Seoane Vello, under the patronage of Saint John and Benedictine observance; only later, once integrated into the Cistercian order, did the monastery take the name Santa María and move to its final location. You’ll find a fragment of this founding document in your Carta Sacra.
After following the Sil and visiting some of its best-known monasteries, the route continues into a territory where the monastic presence once again takes centre stage.
San Juan de Camba: the last monastery before closing the loop
The seventh and final stage of O Camiño do Monxe in 9 days runs from Montederramo back to Castro Caldelas. Before returning to the starting point, the trail passes the Capela das Neves and the Monastery of San Juan de Camba.
It’s the last of the route’s seven monastic stops and the one that closes a circular itinerary that has crossed much of the Ribeira Sacra’s historic territory.
Santa María de Ferreira de Pantón: one more Monastery to extend the experience
A short drive from Monforte de Lemos lies another of the Ribeira Sacra’s great monasteries, Santa María de Ferreira de Pantón, popularly known as the Monastery of the Bernardas. Its first documented references date back to the 10th century, when it was a family-run Benedictine monastery; two centuries later it joined the Cistercian order, and its Romanesque church was built in the 12th century, while the cloister dates from the 15th. The remaining buildings were added in the 18th century.
What makes this monastery unique isn’t just its architecture but its continuity — it’s the only enclosed community of nuns in all of Galicia to have maintained religious life uninterrupted from its founding to today, untouched by Mendizábal’s confiscation laws. The Cistercian nuns who still live there make traditional sweets and liqueurs, and welcome visitors to see part of the grounds and their beautiful Romanesque church, declared a National Monument in 1975.
If you want to extend your experience beyond the O Camiño do Monxe route, Ferreira de Pantón remains an excellent complementary visit.
FAQs about the Ribeira Sacra Monasteries and O Camiño do Monxe
How many monasteries are there in the Ribeira Sacra?
It’s estimated that there were once more than twenty monasteries and priories in the region, though today only a few remain in good condition or are open to visitors.
How many monasteries does O Camiño do Monxe in 9 days pass?
Seven monasteries form part of the seven-stage route: San Paio de Abeleda, Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil, Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil, San Pedro de Rocas, Santa María de Xunqueira de Espadañedo, Santa María de Montederramo and San Juan de Camba.
And how many monasteries does the 5-day route pass?
Three: San Paio de Abeleda, Santa Cristina de Ribas de Sil and Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil, one for each hiking stage.
Which is the oldest monastery in the Ribeira Sacra?
San Pedro de Rocas, in Esgos, whose origins date back to the year 573 according to the founding inscription kept at the Archaeological Museum of Ourense.
Can you sleep in a Ribeira Sacra monastery?
Yes. The Monastery of Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil is now a National Parador de Turismo. On the 5-day route you spend your last night there, and on the 9-day route it’s part of the third stage.
What’s the main difference between the 5-day and 9-day O Camiño do Monxe?
The 5-day route concentrates the journey into three hiking stages and three monasteries around the Sil. The 9-day version includes seven stages passing through seven monasteries.
Is there a Ribeira Sacra monastery with active religious life today?
Yes. Santa María de Ferreira de Pantón, home to Cistercian nuns known as the Bernardas, has kept monastic life going uninterrupted since the Middle Ages.
Is entry to these monasteries free?
It depends on each site. For example, San Paio de Abeleda and San Pedro de Rocas can be visited freely, while Santa Cristina charges a small symbolic entrance fee.
