Camino De San Salvador
24.4 km, 299 m up and 662 m down, through 11 places, 4 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Herias. 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.
Herías is a small village along the valley road. The albergue listed here is actually in Bendueños, a 1.5 km hike uphill from the main route. Sandra, the hospitalera, may be willing to drive down to pick you up — but cal…
The albergue is in Bendueños, 1.5 km uphill from the camino. Call Sandra before you arrive — preferably the day before — to arrange pickup or confirm availability.
The camino continues straight through town, turns right to cross the N-630, and a bit later crosses the river. Just past the river it doubles back to the left to follow a road along the river toward the Iglesia de Santa Cristina de Lena — one of the most important pre-Romanesque churches in Spain, and well worth the detour.
In Vega del Rey, keep a lookout for the black pedestrian bridge on your right. Across the highway and up a short but rigorous climb lies one of the most important little churches in Asturias — Santa Cristina de Lena. The…
Vega del Rey is no longer on the main camino from Campomanes, but it is accessible if you've followed the road instead of crossing the river. The pedestrian bridge crosses the busy highway to your right and brings you to Santa Cristina de Lena.
Santa Cristina de Lena is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the finest examples of pre-Romanesque Asturian architecture in existence. Built in the mid-9th century during the reign of Ramiro I, this tiny church sits…
Palacio is not on the camino, but it's the access point for Santa Cristina de Lena and is included in the guide because there's a hotel here. Getting to Palacio and back adds about 2 km to your journey. If you want to co…
La Cobertoria is a small settlement along the route between Campomanes and Pola de Lena. There are no pilgrim services. The name may derive from the Latin "coopertorium" — a covered place or shelter — suggesting this was…
Vega del Cielo — "meadow of the sky" — is a small hamlet with a name more evocative than the place itself. There are no services, but the green valley setting and the name itself make it a pleasant waypoint. The terrain …
Pola de Lena is the biggest town you've seen since León, spread lengthwise along the road through the Lena valley. There's an albergue with basic services near the train station, and plenty of bars and grocery shops to m…
Villallana is a small town between Pola de Lena and Ujo. There are limited services — a bar that may or may not be open. The town sits along the main valley road and has the feel of a place that was once busier when the …
Upon entering Ujo, keep to your left if you want to stop for coffee or breakfast. To your right is an exercise path that you can also take, but it bypasses all of Ujo's services. The church, the train station, and the b…
Included in the guide for the sake of measuring distances, Santullano for pilgrims is nothing more than a train station along the valley route. Don't confuse it with San Julián de los Prados (also called Santullano), the…
Cross over the river and into town. If you're not interested in Mieres and would rather pass through quickly, continue straight after crossing the bridge, through the first major intersection. At the second intersection (with a large car park on your right), turn left. You'll pass an urban park, and at the end of the park you have two options:
1. Carry on straight, turning left at the very end of the road and rejoining the camino.
2. Reconsider your intent to rush through town and turn right to visit the Iglesia de San Juan. If you choose this, just turn left when you get to the church. The road wraps around and meets option 1 quickly.
From La Peña you begin the 5 km climb to El Padrún. It's not as demanding as the mountain crossing earlier, but it's steady uphill. Rest places and small villages break up the climb. Take it at your own pace — you've already conquered the hardest terrain on this route.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 401 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 23.8 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.