Camino del Norte
26 km, 416 m up and 405 m down, through 8 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 Ribadesella. 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 city of Ribadesella is bisected by the Río Sella, on the east back of which is the old town and the west bank its expansion along the beachfront. The camino crosses the river along the road and turns right once across. The arrows point the way along the beach through town. At the far end of town it climbs slightly and begins to follow a country road as it traverses the hillside. It passes a roundabout and the campsite of Los Sauces and continues to San Pedro.
After passing through San Pedro the camino nears the town of Abeu, where there is a turn off to get to the albergue in San Esteban which is a short distance down the road.
If you stayed at the albergue here retrace your steps to Abeu to resume the camino, turning left at the bend in the road to follow the left most trail.
The camino descends through Vega de Ribadesella all the way to the beach, where it then climbs back up to Berbes, passing along the way a few hamlets without any services.
Straight through Berbes, crossing the N-632 but eventually following along it for a short distance. Leave the road for a trail to your right which takes you briefly uphill and then back down again to the beach and campsite at Moris. From here the camino follow a coastal trail to the beach of La Espasa.
The camino follows the beach here, at the far end of which is a bar and public restroom. Beyond that the camino crosses a small river and follows along the N-632.At this point the camino follows along the N-632, leaving it on several occasions for safety but always returning to it.
The town of La Isla sits to the north of the N-632, and the camino does not technically pass through town. From the albergue in La Isla it is possible to get to Colunga via a coastal path that takes you through Güerres. Inquire at the albergue for more information.
At the start of La Isla, which itself sits at the edge of the camino, the camino turns left off the N-632 to follow a quiet road through a number of small hamlets. It rejoins the N-632 at the entrance to Colunga.
The town of La Isla sits to the north of the N-632, and the camino does not technically pass through town.From the albergue in La Isla it is possible to get to Colunga via a coastal path that takes you through Güerres. Inquire at the albergue for more information.
At the far end of Colunga turns left to follow the AS-258, and then quickly thereafter it turns right at a fork to follow the CL-1. It follows this paved country road all the way to Pernús, passing under A-8 at the half way point. It nears several small hamlets.
Güerres is on the coastal alternate from La Isla — a quieter way into Colunga that avoids the N-632. No services.
The camino leaves the CL-1 only to pass the Church of San Pedro, but then continues to follow it to La Llera.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 439 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 25.3 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.