Camino del Norte
25 km, 665 m up and 595 m down, through 9 places, 6 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Soto del Barco. 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.
Past the Hotel Palacio de la Magdalena in Soto the camino continues down the old N-632, descending to the new N-632 bridge crossing over the Río Nalón. As it climbs back up keep an eye open for the arrows which take you off of the N-632 to your left which takes you through a neighborhood of Muros de Nalón where the albergue Casa Carmina (recommended for lunch or dinner) is located. Beyond the albergue follow the road to cross over the N-632 via an elevated pedestrian bridge, passing through Muros.
Located 2 km off the camino. Turn right after crossing the bridge onto the MU-1 if you want to visit.
At the end of the park the camino crosses over the railway line and turns right onto the Calle Francisco Cabal parallel to the track and past the train station. It quickly returns to the forest, winding its way to El Pito.
The camino crosses through town along the main road, past the parks on your right, and the church on your left. Shortly past the church it turns off to the left and onto a road which becomes a path and dives through the forest again. It crosses beneath the railway track near El Peñedo.
In El Peñedo the camino crosses the N-632 and continues to pass under the A-8. It follows a trail and small country roads at this point and will pass under both of these roads several more times as it passes through El Rellayo, and then again when you leave Rellayo.
The terrain near El Rellayo becomes a series of ascents and descents, and is seldom on a straigh course. It tries to follow a level elevation and you will often feel as if you are walking in a broad curve as you traverse several hillsides on the way to Mumayor.
Beyond Mumayor the camino traverses two more hillsides and then descends to a shallow valley and Soto de Luiña.
From Soto de Luiña the camino splits into two well-marked routes. The fork is obvious — a marker with two shells indicates each direction. The Mountain Route (19.9 km) turns left and climbs to the ridge. It's entirely m…
From Soto de Luiña there are two different routes to take. Both are well waymarked and the split is evident. It occurs along the road and there is a marker with two shells indicating which direction to go.Option 1: Mountain Route - 19.9This route is entirely mountain walking and is far and away the most scenic option. As the name suggests it takes you up to and along the ridge of the mountain. If you chose this route be sure to pack enough food and water as there are no services along the way. At the point where the camino splits, the Mountain Route turns left and begins to climb.Option 2: Road / Ballota Route - 19.5Although this route does not reach great heights, it does do a considerable amount of climbing and descending; it is essentially a long series of switchback shortcuts that parallel the road. A word of caution is in order. Because this route frequently joins the road it is necessary to keep a watch for all the arrows which take you away from it. Although you will reach your destination if you stay on the road, you will walk a great deal farther and do a lot more up and down. There are quite a few more services along this route. To follow it, simply keep to the road where the split occurs.
A hamlet on the Ballota route. No services.
A hamlet on the Ballota route. No services.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 418 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 25.1 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.