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The tree of the Camino de Santiago: The history of the centenary chestnut tree of Triacastela

Discover the centenary chestnut tree of Triacastela, a jewel of nature in the middle of the Camino Francés.

As if the Camino Francés was not already one of the most popular Jacobean routes, some of the places or emblematic points that we find along it makes more and more pilgrims who want to walk it. In general, there are many monuments on the Camino de Santiago that you can not miss, but if we focus on the Camino Francés and more specifically in the municipality of Triacastela there is one that is already an icon for pilgrims.

The centenary chestnut tree, a jewel of nature on the Camino Francés

In the municipality of Triacastela, specifically within the village of Ramil is one of the most emblematic points of interest of the Camino Francés. This emblematic place is reaching the most central point of Triacastela, within the province of Lugo and is starring nothing more and nothing less than a chestnut tree that stands out both for its size and its longevity.

In the village of Ramil, east of Triacastela, is the chestnut tree very typical of this province and that stands out for having more than 800 years. This tree is in the middle of the Jacobean route, specifically in the Camino Francés and that is why it has already become an iconic place that many pilgrims want to remember by taking pictures.

History of the emblematic Ramil chestnut tree in Triacastela

Although it is common to find trees of this type in the Galician mountains, none of them stands out as much as the centenary chestnut tree of Triacastela. This chestnut tree offers as all the others chestnuts when autumn arrives, however this specimen does it on a large scale since it has a diameter of 2.7 meters and a perimeter of 8.5 meters, something quite unusual in chestnut trees.

Although there is no information about this chestnut tree in ancient documents, in the Codex Calixtinus attributed to Aymeric Picaud, both Ramil and Triacastela are mentioned, even mentioning the origin of its name. Taking into account the date of this work, it can be determined that Aymeric Picaud himself witnessed this iconic chestnut tree over 800 years old, although at that time it would not attract attention as it does now.

Triacastela, a unique municipality of the Camino Francés

Already within the Galician community, Triacastela is a point of arrival on the Camino Francés. It is the end of the stage O Cebreiro - Triacastela, one of the most striking of all this Jacobean route, and the beginning of Triacastela - Sarria, a municipality from which you can opt for the road that crosses San Xil or the stage of Triacastela to Sarria by Samos. In either case, after overcoming the hard stretch after which O Cebreiro is left behind, pilgrims must cross through Ramil, where this chestnut tree is located, to then reach Triacastela and there opt for one option or the other.

Although the centenary chestnut tree of Ramil is one of the most striking points of interest of the O Cebreiro - Triacastela stage, it is not the only thing that pilgrims can see on this stretch. On one side are the pallozas of O Cebreiro or the monument to the pilgrim in Alto de San Roque.

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