Camino del Norte
27.3 km, 363 m up and 371 m down, through 4 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 Escalante. 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.
Escalante is a small town on the inland route with more history than its size suggests. A Franciscan monastery and several medieval buildings survive. A bar provides refreshment.
The camino passes through San Miguel on a small country road at the upper side of town. It passes the church before descending back to the CA-454 which it follows a short distance before turning left downhill at the end of town. From here it descends to the bottom of the valley, where the albergue is located, and then climbs back up to the road in Bareyo.
If you need any of the shops in town, stay on the main road when you reach the town. All of the services are located at the start of town along this road, which you can follow to the end of town and resume the official camino.
In Bareyo it is possible to take a small detour (signposted and along the road) to visit the 12th century Iglesia de Santa Maria. Otherwise, turn left at the road. Ahead the camino takes a long route around Güemes, in fact it doesn’t much go through town at all. This is fine if you are planning on staying at the albergue here as it is on the camino, but otherwise it is possible to keep on the road as it passes through Güemes on a shorter route to rejoin the camino. If you follow the official camino it is along the CA-447 from Bareyo but turns left to leave the road for a quieter one a few kilometers later.
The route from the church in Güemes (along the shortcut) and the official camino rejoin on the CA-443 at the west end of town. This is the same road that led into town, but the number changed at the church. Where it reaches a junction with another main road, turn left. Galizano is ahead and on your right. You will turn off the road to pass through it.
The camino splits again in Galizano. One option is to return to the main road and follow it all the way into Somo. The quieter option is to pass through town and continue north to the sea to follow a coastal route which enters Somo at the edge of the Loredo beach.
Loredo is on the coastal route variant between Galizano and Somo. A quiet beach settlement. The path along the coast here is pleasant walking.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 391 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 19.9 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.