La Mesa to Grandas de Salime

What you pass through

Every place on the path in order, with the distance from La Mesa. 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.

1. start
   La Mesa875 m1 to stayBar · food

   Pay close attention to the arrows when leaving town, there are 4 roads not including the one you walked into town on. The camino follows the road steeply uphill all the way to Buspol.

2. 2.3 km
   Buspol975 m

   The Capilla de Santa Marina de Buspol is the only building of note. The weather here frequently wraps the hilltop in a rainy mist that obscures what would otherwise be a dramatic view of the Embalse de Salime reservoir b…

   At the sharp curve in the road in Buspol, the camino finally leaves the road in favor of a mountain track.

   NOTE: It is almost entirely downhill to the dam of the reservoir, a descent of over 750m and often very steep. Furthermore, the trail crisscrosses several other mountain tracks, look carefully for the arrows and avoid the temptation to shortcut the switchbacks.

3. 9.4 km
   Embalse de Salime220 m1 to stayBar · food

   What goes down must go up, in this case it is about 300m back up to Grandas de Salime. It is mostly, but not entirely, along the road. Along the way is a scenic overlook (about 2km from the dam). Shortly after the most severe turn in the road (a 180 degree bend) the camino turns left to follow a trail uphill.

4. 11.3 km
   Scenic overlook
5. 15.6 km
   Grandas de Salime560 m7 to stayBar · food

   The camino leaves town along Calle Carmen and passes the Capilla de Carmen before joining the AS-28 highway for several parts; leaving and rejoining between towns on its way up to the alto that marks the border between Asturias and Galicia. There is one more albergue on the Asturian side of the border, in Castro. The first hamlet you come to, that of La Farrapa, has no services for pilgrims.