Camino del Norte
30.2 km, 470 m up and 451 m down, through 10 places, 8 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Barcia. 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.
From Barcia the walk is across gently rolling hills, though along paved country roads. There is a small descent into the east side of Luarca, which is located along a bend in the Río Negro. After crossing the river you enter into the historic center of town, where the majority of the accommodation options and all of the charm are to be found.
Leaving Luarca the camino climbs a bit, winding its way uphill though a residential expansion of the city. The road straightens out and levels off, and the camino follows it all the way to Otur. It crosses the N-634 along the way and when it passes through Otur (which is located on the N-634) it does so to the south of town.
A hamlet between Luarca and Otur. No services.
The camino keeps to this back road through Otur. It follows a not very straight path, and its twists and turns are designed to lessen the steepness of the climb up the Monte Faro. It doesn't climb all the way to the top thankfully, just far enough to get around the nearby A-8. The descent is steeper and brings you to the N-634 once again, which descends to the bottom of the shallow river valley and to Bao.
In Bao the camino follows the N-634 over the Río Barayu but quickly leaves it along a path on the left, charting a different course up this hillside to Villapedre.
In Villapedre the camino follows along the N-634, but only very briefly. Do not miss the arrow to your right which takes you back onto a country road and over the railway tracks. It is the quieter path to Piñera but does require you to cross back over the N-634 again.
The roads in these parts, you may have noticed, are a web of country lanes which are not altogether very straightforward. Leaving Piñera you may or may not cross the railway line twice. But you will certainly return to the N-634 for a brief strech of walking along the road. It leave to the right onto another path and passes through Villaoril.
Continue along the country road that brought you into Villaoril all the way to La Colorada, where you are greeted by a gas station and several industrial warehouses on your left.
Not far past the industrial buildings there are a few homes, and the camino turns left to take a quieter road to Navia.
Beyond Jarrio the camino mostly avoids the N-634 and instead keeps to the countryside back roads. Once it crosses over the A-8 however that pattern changes, and it follows the main road into Cartavio. From Cartavio to La Caridad it then struggles to stay off the road, leaving for brief stretches but alway returning to it. In La Caridad, after passing the municipal albergue, it returns to the old N-634 through town.
Beyond Jarrio the camino mostly avoids the N-634 and instead keeps to the countryside back roads. Once it crosses over the A-8 however that pattern changes, and it follows the main road into Cartavio. From Cartavio to La Caridad it then struggles to stay off the road, leaving for brief stretches but alway returning to it. In Cartavio, after passing the municipal albergue, it returns to the old N-634 through town.
A hamlet on the road between Navia and La Caridad. No services.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 463 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 30.4 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.