A Xesta

A Xesta is a small locality in the province of Lugo, Galicia, on the Camino del Norte inland route between Mondoñedo and the southern Lugo valleys. The name is the Galician word for broom, the scrubby yellow-flowered shrub that colonises the open hillsides and clearings of this Atlantic interior zone, giving the locality its botanical identity.

The setting is the transition terrain between the Mondoñedo basin and the enclosed valley systems heading toward Villalba. Open hillside broom heath alternates with patches of eucalyptus and oak woodland on the steeper slopes, while the valley bottoms carry the green pasture typical of the Lugo interior.

For pilgrims on the Camino del Norte, A Xesta falls on the long inland stage south of Mondoñedo, where the route continues through a succession of small Galician communities in the rolling hill terrain of the Lugo province.