Camino del Norte
25 km, 373 m up and 166 m down, through 6 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 Baamonde. 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.
There is one roundabout in the center of Baamonde, and from it you have two options. To the right is the official camino, and to the left is an alternative complementaria route. The complementaria route has the benefit of avoiding the road in favor of a trail.
There are two routes to chose from when leaving Baamonde, but neither are related to a new alternative route that appears in San Breixo. Both routes from Baamonde are suitable and rejoin just out of town.
Beyond the two options out of town mentioned above, there will soon be another very important deviation when you get to San Breixo. There is a bit of controversy surrounding this option, based mostly on the opposition voiced by business and albergues along the old route. For now there appears to be a bit of an agreement that the old way will remain.
However the new way does exist and it is a full 10km shorter, a distance that tells you just how indirect the old way was. The best and most up to date description of the new way can be gotten from the owners of the KM111 bar in Baamonde.
Essentially this new option begins in A Fonte and bypasses both Miraz AND Sobrado, though there is an option along it to get back to Sobrado if you wish. The two options rejoin in Boimil. This new route is marked, but there are no services along the way.
Pay close attention to the option in this small hamlet, the arrows may have been manipulated. When you reach the road you have two choices: Left along the old camino or right to follow the newer shorter option directly to Boimil. Along the official camino you will pass through the small hamlet of Digañe (no services) before arriving in Carballedo. Note that the albergue in Santa Leocadia is located just before town, along a marked road.
A hamlet on the old camino route between San Breixo and Carballedo. No services.
At the end of town the camino keeps on straight into the forest along a foot path, a shortcut to the road. When you get to the road, turn right and follow it to the two Seixóns, first the lower and then the higher.
In Seixón turn right at the junction (bar) and follow the road. The second junction is the place known as A Lagoa and the albergue is on your left.
Turn left at the albergue onto the LU-P-2107, and a few meters later veer to the right along the LU-P-2113 in the direction of Miraz.
At the west end of Miraz the camino becomes a gravel road which runs 3.5km to the next paved surface and turns left and into Braña the town with no buildings. Soon it merges with another larger road (still a country lane, the LU-P-2102). If follows this road about 600m and turns right onto another. When this road bends left the camino continues straight onto a trail. When it reaches the next paved road, the LU-P-2119, it turns right and follows it 3.2km to A Roxica.
There are no services between Miraz and A Roxica, several hours away. Plan accordingly.
Keep on the road through A Roxica and at the next junction, a fork with 3 forward options, keep on the road to the left. The village of A Cabana is ahead (no services). You will follow this road, still the LU-P-2119, past the hamlets of Travesa, and Marcela before turning right onto another road which winds up through the hamlet of Corteporcos. When it reaches the next main road, the somewhat busier AC-934, it turns right and follows the road straight. Along the way you pass into the province of A Coruña and through the hamlet of Marco das Pias to arrive at a junction. Follow the signs along the same road in the direction of Sobrado. The first town and bar along this road is in Meson.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 432 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 24.9 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.