Camino Primitivo

THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL

The oldest road to Santiago.

The Primitivo is the road King Alfonso II the Chaste took from Oviedo in the ninth century towards the newly found tomb of the apostle. It is shorter than the French Way but far more mountainous: the Cantabrian range, mist, beech woods and the famous Hospitales variant along a bare ridge at 1,200 metres. Twelve days take us across Asturias and Galicia and into Santiago through the Porta do Camino.

• San Salvador cathedral in Oviedo, the historical start
• The Hospitales ridge variant at 1,200 m
• Castro de San Chuis and the Roman walls of Lugo
• Arriving in Santiago and the pilgrims’ mass

1. 01
   DAY 1 · City walk and briefing

   Oviedo, the cathedral and the credential

   We gather in Oviedo, collect the credential at San Salvador cathedral and walk the old town. In the evening we go over logistics: services on the Primitivo are sparse and water planning matters more than it sounds.

   Overnight: Hotel in Oviedo
2. 02
   DAY 2 · 25 km, 550 m of ascent

   Oviedo to Grado via Escamplero

   We leave the city at seven and are quickly among eucalyptus and horreos, the Asturian granaries on stilts. Twenty-five kilometres with two noticeable climbs.

   Overnight: Hotel in Grado
3. 03
   DAY 3 · 22 km, 600 m of ascent

   Grado to Salas

   A climb to the monastery of Cornellana, then the valley of the Narcea. Salas greets us with a medieval tower and the collegiate church holding the tomb of the inquisitor Valdes.

   Overnight: Hotel in Salas
4. 04
   DAY 4 · 20 km, 700 m of ascent

   Salas to Tineo through beech hills

   A long steady 700-metre pull to Tineo at 670 m, a town on a hillside with the whole valley below. This is where the mountain half of the Primitivo formally begins.

   Overnight: Hotel in Tineo
5. 05
   DAY 5 · 13 km, 300 m of ascent

   Tineo to Borres

   A deliberately short day: tomorrow is Hospitales and it pays to arrive fresh. On the way, the twelfth-century monastery of Obona, one of the oldest on the route.

   Overnight: Rural house in Borres
6. 06
   DAY 6 · 27 km, 900 m of ascent

   The Hospitales ridge variant

   The finest stage of the Primitivo: 27 kilometres along an open ridge at 1,100 to 1,200 m past the ruins of three medieval hospices. No water and no shelter for twenty kilometres; in mist we follow the marker posts closely.

   Overnight: Guesthouse in Berducedo
7. 07
   DAY 7 · 20 km, 800 m of ascent

   Down to the Salime reservoir

   Past Buspol and 800 metres down to the Salime dam, then the same back up to Grandas. The day with the largest total height change on the route.

   Overnight: Hotel in Grandas de Salime
8. 08
   DAY 8 · 26 km, 900 m of climbing

   Puerto del Acebo and into Galicia

   We climb the Puerto del Acebo at 1,030 m and cross from Asturias into Galicia among wind turbines. Fonsagrada sits at 950 m, the highest town on the way.

   Overnight: Hotel in Fonsagrada
9. 09
   DAY 9 · 24 km, 700 m of ascent

   Galician hills to Cadavo

   Rolling ground, villages with stone horreos and the first eucalyptus plantations. A sawtooth profile: around 700 metres of gain in short bursts.

   Overnight: Hotel in Cadavo Baleira
10. 10
    DAY 10 · 30 km, 400 m of ascent

    Lugo and the Roman wall

    A 500-metre descent to the Mino valley and into Lugo, the only city in the world with a complete Roman wall, 2.1 kilometres around. We walk its top before dinner.

    Overnight: Hotel in Lugo
11. 11
    DAY 11 · 25 km, 450 m of ascent

    Lugo to Melide, joining the French Way

    We transfer over part of the flat section and walk 25 kilometres to Melide, where the Primitivo merges with the French Way. The difference is instant: ten times as many people.

    Overnight: Hotel in Melide
12. 12
    DAY 12 · 33 km, 500 m of ascent

    Monte do Gozo and Santiago

    A final 33 kilometres through eucalyptus woods and over Monte do Gozo, where the cathedral spires first appear. We enter through the Porta do Camino, collect the Compostela and go to the midday pilgrims’ mass.

    Overnight: —