Camino Primitivo

Before you set off

Oviedo, capital of the medieval kingdom of Asturias, is where the Primitivo starts, at the door of the cathedral of San Salvador. Arrive the day before: the cathedral, its Cámara Santa relic chapel and the 9th-century churches on Monte Naranco fill an afternoon. Beds are plentiful, with 27 places on Gronze, but the 51-bed public albergue takes no bookings and opens only at 16:00 or 16:30.

Stage 1 of 14 · 6 to 7 hours walking

A full first day of 15.7 miles that Gronze warns is no stroll: constant short ups and downs across the flank of Monte Naranco, then a steep climb from the medieval Gallegos bridge to Escamplero, before an easier run down to the Nalón valley. There are bars at Escamplero, Premoño and Paladín, but nothing at Peñaflor. Grado has five places but only 51 dorm beds, and both albergues close from November to February; Escamplero's 16-bed albergue, 7.3 miles in, makes a shorter first day.

From Oviedo: 15.7 miles · 1,390 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 2 of 14 · 5 to 6 hours walking

A shorter day than the first but a hilly one: it opens with a climb of about 1,000 ft in 3.1 miles to the Alto del Fresno, drops steeply to the Narcea valley at Cornellana, then climbs again up the Nonaya valley to Salas. Cornellana, 6.6 miles in, is the only village with full services; after it there's just a petrol-station bar at Casazorrina. Salas has eight places and about 94 dorm beds, but only one says it is open all year.

From Grado, through Cornellana: 13.9 miles · 2,120 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 3 of 14 · 5 to 6 hours walking

A short but hilly day: a steady climb of about 1,400 ft from Salas to La Espina, then rolling farm and forest tracks along the hillsides to Tineo. La Espina, 5.1 miles in, is the only place to eat or buy food. Tineo has eight places to stay, from a 24-bed municipal albergue to a four-star palace hotel, so beds are rarely the problem; the one that fills is Bodenaya's 10-bed donation albergue on the way.

From Salas, through La Espina: 12.3 miles · 2,220 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 4 of 14 · 4 to 5 hours walking

A short, gentle day, used by most walkers to rest before the mountains. It climbs over a wooded ridge out of Tineo, passes the turn for the ruined monastery of Obona, then follows a quiet road through Campiello, the last place with a shop. Borres has only two albergues with 30 dorm beds and one private room, no shop, and in 2026 no open bar, so book La Montera or have a backup in Campiello, El Espín or Colinas de Arriba.

From Tineo: 9.9 miles · 960 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 5 of 14 · 6.5 to 8 (Hospitales); 7.5 to 9 (Pola de Allande) hours walking

The biggest day of the Primitivo, with two ways over the mountains that meet at the Puerto del Palo (3,760 ft). The Hospitales route is 15.0 miles over open ridges with no village services; the Pola de Allande route is 17.8 miles and 3,990 ft of climbing, but passes the only town with shops and beds. Take Pola de Allande in fog, snow, a bad forecast or winter. Berducedo has 62 dorm beds and few private rooms, so book ahead or plan to sleep in Pola de Allande or La Mesa.

From Borres, over the Hospitales route: 15.0 miles · 3,160 ft climbon Gronze

Or from Borres, through Pola de Allande: 17.8 miles · 3,990 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 6 of 14 · 5 to 6 hours walking

A shorter day with one long way down: a steep road climb past La Mesa to a ridge of wind turbines, then about 2,700 ft of descent over 5 miles to the Salime dam, and a 4-mile road climb to Grandas. There is nothing for 6.5 miles between La Mesa and Hotel Las Grandas, just past the dam, so carry water and food. Grandas has seven places to stay, three of them albergues, and an ethnographic museum worth a visit.

From Berducedo, over the Salime dam: 12.7 miles · 2,180 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 7 of 14 · 6.5 to 7.5 hours walking

A long day that crosses into Galicia at the Alto del Acebo, 3,707 ft, after a steady climb past wind turbines. Beds are the problem: after Castro, 3.2 miles in, there are none for 12.5 miles, and food on the way is limited to a tavern at O Acebo and a mesón at Barbeitos. A Fonsagrada has six places with 96 dorm beds in three albergues, all open all year. From here on, follow the yellow arrows rather than the shell on the waymarks.

From Grandas de Salime, over the Alto del Acebo: 15.7 miles · 2,810 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 8 of 14 · 6 to 7 hours walking

The first stage wholly in Galicia: steady climbs and steep drops beside the LU-530, past the ruins of the Montouto pilgrim hospital. There is no food on the route for the first 7.6 miles unless you detour to O Piñeiral, and none after A Lastra, 10.7 miles in, since the Fontaneira bar closed in 2023. The Cuesta do Sapo before A Lastra is the hardest climb of the day. O Cádavo has five places; the Xunta albergue and Porta Santa are open all year.

From A Fonsagrada, past Montouto: 15.1 miles · 2,330 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 9 of 14 · 7 to 8 hours walking

The longest day of the route, 18.3 miles, but mostly gentle, on farm tracks and quiet roads across the Lugo plateau. Castroverde, 4.8 miles in, is the last place with shops and bars; after it there are only vending machines and a seasonal food van for 13.5 miles. You enter Lugo through its Roman walls, and the city has plenty of beds, from the Xunta albergue inside the walls to four-star hotels, which makes it a good place for a rest day.

From O Cádavo, through Castroverde: 18.3 miles · 1,670 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 10 of 14 · 6 to 7 hours walking

A long day of 16.5 miles, mostly on quiet country roads across the Lugo plateau, with no real climbs. A signed detour leads to Santalla de Bóveda, a painted late-Roman chamber, and after San Román da Retorta the route follows the line of a Roman road to a small old bridge over the Ferreira. A Ponte Ferreira is a hamlet of fewer than 50 people with five places to stay, no public albergue and no hotel, and only one of them is open all year, so book ahead.

From Lugo, through San Román da Retorta: 16.5 miles · 1,710 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 11 of 14 · 4.5 to 5 hours walking

A shorter day of 12.4 miles: a gradual climb past As Seixas to the wind-farm ridge of the Alto do Careón at 2,329 ft, then a long descent on quiet lanes to Melide. In Melide the Primitivo joins the Camino Francés, and the character of the walk changes: from here you share paths, bars and beds with walkers coming from Sarria. Beds are plentiful, but there are none for the last 8.1 miles after Casacamiño.

From A Ponte Ferreira, over the Alto do Careón: 12.4 miles · 1,050 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 12 of 14 · 3.5 to 4 hours walking

A short day of 8.8 miles on the Camino Francés, through oak, pine and eucalyptus woods with constant short climbs and drops across stream valleys. Expect company: this stretch carries everyone walking from Sarria. Boente, A Fraga Alta and Ribadiso all have beds and bars, and Ribadiso's riverside Xunta albergue, 1.9 miles before Arzúa, is a quieter alternative to the town.

From Melide, on the Camino Francés: 8.8 miles · climbing not givenon Gronze

Stage 13 of 14 · 4 to 5 hours walking

A short, easy day on forest tracks through eucalyptus and oak, with the N-547 road never far away and a bar every few miles. The Camino skirts O Pedrouzo: where it meets the N-547 at the edge of town, turn left for the centre and the beds. The town has about 25 places but no hotel; the nearest are Hotel O Pino in A Rúa, 1 mile before town, and Hotel O Pozo at O Empalme, 2.7 miles before. Most private albergues close for the winter.

From Arzúa: 12.0 miles · 1,150 ft climbon Gronze

Stage 14 of 14 · 4 to 5 hours walking

The last day: forest tracks for 4 miles, then the airport, Lavacolla and a climb on asphalt to Monte do Gozo, where the cathedral towers come into view, and nearly 3 miles of city streets to Praza do Obradoiro. Leave early if you want the noon Pilgrims' Mass, which from 16 October 2026 is held at the church of San Agustín while the cathedral's main chapel is under works. Beds are not short: Gronze lists 40 places, and the city has many more.

From O Pedrouzo, past Monte do Gozo: 12.1 miles · 1,040 ft climbon Gronze

The quiet ending, day 1 of 4 · 6.5 to 7.5 hours walking

The first day of the quiet ending leaves the Primitivo just past Lugo's Roman bridge and follows the Camiño Verde, a route marked with green arrows by one volunteer, along the Miño and Mera rivers and then old farm lanes to Friol. It is long and mostly flat, with lovely river and woodland walking, but there is nothing to buy until a fountain and bar about 12.4 miles in, and the arrows are easy to lose, so carry a GPS track. Beds are the real problem: Friol has no albergue, one small hotel in town, and its cheap pensión was reported closed for good in October 2026.

From Lugo, on the Camiño Verde: 16.8 miles · 1,290 ft climb

The quiet ending, day 2 of 4 · 6 to 7 hours walking

The second Camiño Verde day crosses quiet farm country on muddy lanes and tracks with no bar or shop for about 12 miles, then joins the Camino del Norte for the last miles to Sobrado dos Monxes and its great Cistercian monastery. It is the worse marked of the two Verde days, and walkers met loose dogs on it in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Sobrado has beds for everyone: a 98-bed albergue inside the monastery that takes no bookings, a private albergue, two pensiones, a hotel, two apartments and the monks' own guest house.

From Friol, joining the Camino del Norte at O Mesón: 15.5 miles · 910 ft climb

The quiet ending, day 3 of 4 · 5 to 5.5 hours walking

A flat day on the Camino del Norte to Boimorto, the last place with shops, then onto the signposted branch toward Lavacolla, which avoids Arzúa and the Camino Francés. Most of it is on quiet asphalt with little shade, and there is nothing but a fountain in the last 6 miles. Beds at the end are few and small: Twin Pines has the only dorm beds between Boimorto and Lavacolla, with a rural hotel and an expensive pazo off the route and Casa Rico de Medín 1.4 miles on, so book ahead.

From Sobrado dos Monxes, through Boimorto and A Mota: 13.5 miles · climbing not givenon Gronze

The quiet ending, day 4 of 4 · 7 to 8 hours walking

The longest day of the quiet ending: forest tracks from Goimil, then about 5 miles beside the busy N-634 with few places to eat, before the branch meets the Camino Francés by Santiago airport. The last 8.5 miles are the Francés's familiar finish through Lavacolla and over Monte do Gozo into the old town. If 19 miles is too much, stop at Ponte Puñide, 6 miles in, or at Lavacolla, 13 miles in, which has nine places to stay.

From Alto de Goimil, joining the Camino Francés near the airport: 19.3 miles · climbing not given