Parador de Santo Estevo prior to Camino Sanabres - how to go around?

[Anamya]

Hi everyone.
We are starting to plan a Camino Sanabres and would love to spend some time in the Parador os Sto Estevo, in Ribas de Sil, to recover from jetlag before we start walking. (Getting there from Australia is no joke! )
I know how to get there: train to Ourense, taxi to the hotel. But once at the Parador, is it possible to simply walk around to visit places? Or do you need a car or tour to reach the most interesting points of the Ribeira Sacra?
Any info and recommendations will be welcome! Cheers!

(I was unsure about posting here or on the Sanabres section, apologies if I chose wrong)

 

[lt56ny]

You should ask the hotel. Probably the best source of information.

 

[Corned Beef]

A location I have look at over time but never came up with a reasonable plan, or reason to be there. For hypothetical purposes you could taxi back and forward from Ourense. Or there is a small ADIF rail station (Santo Estevo do Sil) with one train a day to Ourense on the Monforte de Lemos line. (Love these small regional stations in the back of beyond).




According to OSM there is a path downhill to the river and across the bridge to the station.



There is a longer trail going south but it ends up well short of the Sanabres on a road. There may be a bus from there but it's a bit out of the way. Depends if you do not mind walking the road from there to Ourense. but as has been mentioned, the hotel will have a better idea of local routes

 

[peregrina2000]

But once at the Parador, is it possible to simply walk around to visit places? Or do you need a car or tour to reach the most interesting points of the Ribeira Sacra?

Oh, what a wonderful choice of parador! I think that my favorite long weekend trip ever was in that area. There are nice walks from “behind” the parador that will take you up to little villages, but all of the glorious sites are driving distance. There is so much to see there, but I will stop gushing and just link you to my earlier (and equally gushy) comments about the trip.

I described it here.

 

[Anamya]

There is so much to see there, but I will stop gushing and just link you to my earlier (and equally gushy) comments about the trip.

Your previous posts about this location, plus the legend of the nine rings were the reasons we decided for this Parador!
I see you had a car on your trip. We are toying between hiring a vehicle (not a preferred option) or maybe hiring a driver that could take us around. I hope we can find some options online, the place just looks too stunning to miss, if we are starting a Camino in Ourense.

 

[Anamya]

You should ask the hotel. Probably the best source of information.

Already did! They sent me a link to the official tourism website of the Ribeira Sacra, there are some companies that tour the area and may be able to help.
According to the hotel, there's no public transport at walking distance to the Parador (kinda funny to say that to a pilgrim/camino walker...), so they recommended hiring a car, contacting a driver in advance or joining a tour.

 

[peregrina2000]

or maybe hiring a driver that could take us around.

I know that the cultural guide I had for my visit to Santas Mariña de Aguas Santas also does guided tours. The company is Xeitura. Looking at their website, I can see they have really grown in the 7 years since I met them. Even if they don’t offer the driving part, maybe they can recommend someone local who could help you out. There are so many beautiful places in such a short distance, I hope you can find something.

 

[peregrina2000]

maybe hiring a driver that could take us around.

And here’s another possibility - Mais que Románico. They describe themselves as being guides of cultural tourism, are centered in the Ribeira Sacra, and seem happy to devise individual plans for people.

 

[andonius]

Good Choice. Santo Estevo is one of the most beautiful Paradores in Spain, An old Monastery, ideal to recover from Jet Lag.

You have a lot to see around there. I don’t know how much time you have, but I will say that you will need a car to move, because it’s in the middle of the mountains, about 6kms far from the nearest town, and the main attractions you have around there need a car.

So my recommendation is to move to Orense by train and rent a car there to move to and from the Parador, which is located just 20 kms from Orense (mountain roads, it’ll take you about 40 minutes to arrive.)

The main attractions around the Parador that you may want to see are the following:

• The Parador in itself is a must . Walk around it and see its beautiful yards and the giant garden autside. Don’t miss the opportunity to dine in its restaurant and ask (weather allowing) for a terrace table. Excellent views.
• The main reason to go to the Parador is to vist the Canyons of the Sil River. Along the course of the river there are a lot of viewpoints in the most spectacular places. I’ll recommend to plan a car route starting in the parador and stopping in some of the nearer ones. You can check all the Viewpoints in https://turismo.ribeirasacra.org/miradores-del-canon-del-sil . My recommendation is that you visit at least the following : Mirador de Balcones de Madrid (the best), Mirador de Vilouxe del cil and Mirador de Pe do Home
• Another good way that I recommend to visit the Canyon of the Sil is a beautiful and calmed boat trip along the river. It takes about 1,5 hours and you see the canyon and the vineyards in the steep hillsides from the river. Very nice and resting. You take the boat in a pier 10 kms far from the parador and you can find information and timetebles at https://www.catamaranesribeirasacra.com/
• Orense: It’s a beautiful city. But the musts there are the Roman bridge (2000 years old) and the Cathedral that has a entrance porch very similar to Santiago's Portico de la Gloria. . You have good restaurants there too. A pick of them you can check in Internet are: Pacifico (Michelin gudie), Sybaris 2, A Taberna Restaurant, Pulpería Asador A Feira, Restaurante A Palleira and Bar Orellas
• Monasterio de Oseira: 54 kms far from the parador, is an incredible monastery with guided visits. You can check opening times and hours of the guided visits in https://mosteirodeoseira.org/web/
• If you want to make to do some walking you have some short routes around the parador (ask there) but if you want a long one you have the route Pasarelas del Rio Mao (30 kms from the parador) which is beautiful. I leave you a description of it and you can find more information at https://turismo.ribeirasacra.org/pasarelas-del-rio-mao

Hope you have a nice stay there and a BUEN CAMINO after.