Camino del Norte
18.4 km, 388 m up and 345 m down, through 5 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 Avilés. 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.
The walk through Avilés, set upon the river, is due north. It is pleasant compared to the other side of town and the only real obstacle is a small but steep climb just before you get to Salinas.
At the end of Salinas the camino begins one of the steepest and most challenging climbs of the camino. It is only 600m long but you will be glad to reach the Iglesia de San Martín at the top.
From the high point of San Martín the camino goes down but right back up again to follow along the ridge of the hillside. It goes up and down a few times before climbing up to the church at Santiago del Monte.
The camino from Santiago del Monte is along the road, winding uphill to pass beneath the A-81 after which it descends through the forest to El Castillo where it crosses the main road and climbs up to an overlook near the castle.
The camino from Santiago del Monte is along the road, winding uphill to pass beneath the A-81 after which it descends through the forest to El Castillo where it crosses the main road and climbs up to an overlook near the castle.
Descending from the castle overlook the camino arrives at a roundabout littered with old arrows and new arrows. At this roundabout, which is now cut off by guard rails, the camino does NOT turn right. Instead it follows the road a bit longer to the next roundabout. At this roundabout it does NOT turn down the N-632 to Muros de Nalon, but rather takes the second exit to pass the hotel in Soto del Barco.
Past the Hotel Palacio de la Magdalena in Soto the camino continues down the old N-632, descending to the new N-632 bridge crossing over the Río Nalón. As it climbs back up keep an eye open for the arrows which take you off of the N-632 to your left which takes you through a neighborhood of Muros de Nalón where the albergue Casa Carmina (recommended for lunch or dinner) is located. Beyond the albergue follow the road to cross over the N-632 via an elevated pedestrian bridge, passing through Muros.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 319 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 18.3 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.