Camino de Invierno
15 km, 172 m up and 108 m down, through 3 places, 3 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Viloria de Rioja. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.
Viloria de Rioja is best known as the birthplace of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. His house didn't survive the centuries, but the baptismal font where he was christened remains in the parish church — a direct link to the …
Don't let the grand name fool you — neither the village nor its river is remarkable. A handful of houses and a church. No services to speak of. Press on toward Belorado.
From Belorado, the camino heads west through Tosantos (5 km), Villambistia, and Espinosa del Camino before reaching Villafranca Montes de Oca (about 12 km). The terrain is gently rolling agricultural land, relatively flat. Services thin out quickly after Belorado — Tosantos has a bar and an albergue, but the other villages along this stretch offer very little.
The walk from Tosantos to Villafranca Montes de Oca is about 7 km through Villambistia and Espinosa del Camino. Neither village offers much — Espinosa has a bar and an albergue in recent years, but don't count on either being open. Stock up in Belorado or wait for Villafranca.
A tiny hamlet between Tosantos and Espinosa del Camino. No services. The stone houses have a weathered dignity, but there's no reason to stop unless you need to adjust your pack.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 138 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 15 km.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.