Camino del Norte
30.5 km, 723 m up and 699 m down, through 7 places, 2 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Figueras. 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.
Figueras is the last town in Asturias. The border with Galicia is spanned by the Puente de Santos — a highway bridge over the Río de Ribadeo. You choose which side to cross on: the north side has better sea views and del…
The extra options along the coast are a quality alternative to the roads that get you to Figueras. However you may be swayed by the somewhat confusingly created signs for the albergue in Figueras. They are full of arrows and say Camino del Norte and their primary function is to get you to the albergue.The border between Asturias and Galicia is spanned by the Puente de Santos. This bridge is the major highway across the Río de Ribadeo below and you have to choose which side you want to cross on in Figueras. The only differences between the two are the views and the egress on the other side of the bridge. The north side of the bridge has better views of the sea, and it delivers you closer to the municipal albergue which itself is north of the bridge.Most but not all of the routes which got you to Figueras will lead you to the roundabout on the south side of the A-8, and arrows indicated the way to the bridge. To get to the other side means ignoring these arrows and passing under the A-8 to the sister roundabout on the other side. There you will find more arrows directing you up the old ramp and to the crossing.At the other end:From the north side, the camino veers away from the A-8 and downhill. When it gets to the road it turns sharply right to go back towards the river. At the river the albergue is a left-hand turn, and the city and camino are a right-hand turn to pass under the bridge you just crossed.From the south side: This way is a bit trickier and essentially forces you to get back to the north side of the bridge temporarily. At the end of the bridge the path veers away and meets the road. Turn right here to go under the A-8, turning right again and back towards the river once past it. Here you rejoin the northern options and at the next junction the albergue is to your left and the city and camino are a right-hand turn to pass under the bridge again.
The camino through Ribadeo has been re-routed in recent years and now follows a route down to the waterfront and then back up. Of course, it is still possible to go the old way and avoid the elevation change. If that suits you, turn right at the first big intersection after you pass under the bridge into town. It is the Avenida de Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo and the official camino is across the road to the left. If you turn right you can follow old arrows through town. At the end of town both options rejoin on the Rúa de San Lazaro and before long you are back in the countryside. Such is the case for most of the walking through Galicia; on a few occasions you will walk along the asphalt road but they are quiet country roads. The first of them is the LU-5207 which you will dance around as you enter Vilela.
The scallop shells in Galicia are not installed with an orientation towards Santiago and having come from Asturias where they are it might be a bit confusing. Just remember to follow the arrow and ignore the shell.
Take the turn off to the right to follow a smaller road through the forest. This road follows a broad bend and eventually turns back towards the LU-133 (which was the main road in Vilela). Before the camino gets all the way to the road, it turns to the right along a path. NOTE: At this point you do have the option of continuing straight to the LU-133 where you can find a coffee in the town of San Vicente without adding any extra distance to your walk. When you get to the LU-133 turn right. At the far end of the sparsely populated village the camino turns from the north to cross over the LU-133 so you can simply follow it (about 2km) all the way to this junction. When the official camino returns to the LU-133 it does not follow it; instead it crosses to the other side and descends along a path to the next road. It then zig zags a bit as it descends via paved roads to the bridge in Arante.
If the bar in Vilela is closed, the only option for buying supplies between here and Villamartín Grande is in San Vicente, a short detour from the camino described below.
The bridge here is the low point of todays walk and from here the camino begins a series of ascents and descents which are to become the de facto terrain in Galicia where level ground is seldom to be found. After the bridge the camino turns sharply right up a path and begins a climb to the top of the mountainside. It spends little time at the top before descending the other side into Villamartín Pequeno.
In Villamartín the camino rejoins the road at the lowest point in the valley, following it southwest for only a short distance. It is common to miss the turn off and continue some distance before noticing the mistake, so keep an eye open for the path on your right which marks the beginning of a steep climb into Villamartín Grande.
After passing the small shop and lodging (friendly and helpful owners) the camino crosses the LU-P-6103, following the sign in the direction of Gondán; a downhill walk along a paved road.
Turn right at the first 4 way junction past the albergue, and follow the back roads to San Xusto.
From San Xusto it is another climb, this time to the top of Monte Calvario before descending into the bustling town of Lourenzá.
There are no services between here and Mondoñedo. From the municipal albergue, the camino leaves town along a well marked but narrow and cobbled path uphill. The path climbs to the top of this monte and joins the N-634 as it passes through the hamlet of Arroxo (just a few houses). Here it reaches the highest point along this stretch and ahead you can see the elevated A-8. Keep on the N-634 to pass underneath it and downhill to the roundabout junction where you keep to your left and abandon the N-634. A short distance ahead the camino leaves the road for a path on your right. Along it you will pass the Mondoñedo cemetery and the hamlets of San Pedro, O Reguengo, and San Paio before returning to the main road into Mondoñedo.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 421 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 30.8 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.