This is a route you choose deliberately. At A Gudiña the Sanabrés splits. The main route climbs through the mountains via Laza, while this variant keeps lower, going through Verín, Xinzo de Limia and Allariz. It is about 30 kilometres longer, less well waymarked and has fewer facilities. Part of the way you walk along the N-525. It calls for self-reliant pilgrims who enjoy finding their own way.
Make sure you withdraw cash in A Gudiña. It has the last cash machine before Ourense. Also bring enough water and food. In Verín the Caminho Português Interior joins the route, and from there those pilgrims walk along with you. Straight after that comes the climb of the second stage: well over 350 metres uphill in five kilometres. After that the land flattens out. A Limia was once a lake and is now a wide, drained plain. Allariz is a medieval town well worth a stroll around. Then it is just one more stage to Ourense.
In Ourense you rejoin the main route of the Sanabrés, on the way to Santiago. The best time to walk this variant is May and June, or September. In November and December it is cool and often rainy. On a route with few facilities, you would rather not have that.