Camino del Norte
30.4 km, 460 m up and 721 m down, through 11 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 O Cádavo Baleira. 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.
The camino between here and Castroverde manages to avoid the steep LU-530 entirely. From O Cádavo it continues uphill along a farm lane to the town of Pradeda where you can look back for a nice view of O Cádavo. Beyond Pradeda the climb continues up to the Alto de Vacariza.
The camino beyond the alto splits and there is now a new type of marker to contend with. In 2016 the Galician government installed new stones to mark the camino. When they were installed the routes were re-examined by planners and several changes and additions were made. In this case, the old camino route was re-named the complementaria route, and a second route was added as the official route. This business of creating complementaria routes has led to much confusion because in some localities (Arzúa is the nearest example) it was applied to a route (for historical reasons) which for decades has been the only option; causing many pilgrims to waste time looking for an official route which does not exist. In this case the old camino has been renamed the complementaria. This guidebook however continues to treat it as the original and still preferred option and the distances indicated are along it. It is 5.5km from the split to Castroverde along the complementaria option, and 4.7 along the newer option.
The camino follows the road from here all the way to Castroverde, and the first building on your right when you get back to the LU-530 is the municipal albergue.
The camino passes through town to the south (left) of the LU-530 and after passing the town hall it joins a trail through a chestnut forest. When it returns to the LU-530 it crosses straight over it (caution!) and turns left to go through a tunnel. It passes through San Miguel do Camiño and an unnamed hamlet before entering Souto de Torres.
Apart from vending machines there are no places to get food between here and Lugo, a distance of 21km. Pack a lunch.
Turn right at the entrance to town and follow this country lane all the way to Vilar de Cas, passing through one more unnamed hamlet along the way.
At the end of town there are markers for another complementaria route, this time for a detour to the Iglesia de Soutomerille (see below). This worthwhile alternative adds 700m to the journey, through an evergreen forest.
The first 1.8km from Gondar are along the paved road. The camino will eventually leave it along a trail to the right. It nears the village of Bascuas 110.2 and then returns to the LU-530. Along this busy road to Lugo you will pass a sign announcing the entrance to Carballido, though you won’t ever see the town which is through the forest to your left. Instead, the camino turns to the right 400m after this sign to resume walking along a country road to the hamlet of As Casas da Viña.
Bascuas lies just north of the camino. Black and yellow arrows point right to keep you on the path, which no longer passes through the village itself. The camino turns left to parallel the main road into Lugo.
If you're a dutiful follower of arrows, you'll enter and exit Carballido without ever seeing more than the road signs. The village is through the trees to the south -- a small cluster centered on one large estate and a c…
As the route approaches Lugo it passes through some rather unappealing surroundings. Lugo is the capital of the region and is surrounded by divided highways which the camino must navigate safely. When it arrives at the highway it makes a right turn and continues to a small overpass which is much safer for pedestrians. You are on a mostly disused road until the next sign of habitation appears.
The barrio known as A Chanca sits along the río Rato in the shadow of a stone railway bridge. From here it is an uphill climb up to Lugo. After passing under the railway cross the road to your right at the first marked pedestrian crossing. Take the stairs on your left to the Rúa de Fontiñas. Turn left here, following the arrows, but cross to your right at the first pedestrian crossing. This road will take you straight up to the old walled city and one of the city gates. The municipal albergue is just inside the wall and to the right down a side street.
The camino leaves the walled city at the gate opposite the Cathedral and proceeds downhill along the Rúa de Santiago. Halfway down the hill it bears right onto the Rúa Calzada da Ponte. It crosses a divided boulevard and descends all the way down to the río Miño.
The Ponte Romano carries you over the river and once on the other side, it turns right to follow along the river bank. After passing the Iglesia de San Lázaro it turns up to the left and follows the road to pass under the N-540. There is one more large intersection ahead and it is a simple matter of crossing straight over it. From here you will follow along the paved road, the LU-P-2901, all the way to San Román de Retorta.
Landmarks along the way include the Santuario de Santo Matías and the hamlets of Seoane de San Xoán do Alto 92.2 and Carrigueiros 90.7.
There is a stretch of 10km west of Lugo without any services for pilgrims. Stock up before you leave.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 784 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 29.9 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.