Camino del Norte
27.9 km, 410 m up and 391 m down, through 12 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 Valdedíos. 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 early 13th century Monasterio de Santa María de Valdedíos, and the 9th century Iglesia de San Salvador de Valdediós next to it, merit a detour. The Monastery is inhabited by a dozen or so Carmelite nuns who also run …
In San Pedro de Ambás the camino again splits, from the main road (AS-257) you again have the option to go to Valdedíos (1.5km).
Gas station and a small bar.
Follow the road signs towards Vega.
The camino passes through Barbechu, Aramante, and El Castru. From El Castru the camino can either follow the road or a trail. The trail passes through Aveno before returning briefly to the road. Between here and Vega de Poja there are many intersections of small country lanes. Keep an eye open for arrows at every junction.
The yellow arrows in Vega de Poja, which direct you to the right, are not quite the right yellow and could be dismissed as farm markings. They are not. However if you go wrong there are more arrows which will eventually bring you back to the right path.
The camino passes the municipal albergue and at the next roundabout follows signs to the barrio of La Carrera. At the highest point along this stretch, a large black billboard of a bull stands on the opposite hillside. The camino enters El Berrón along the back roads.
When you get to the main road in El Berrón (a divided highway) turn left (south) to cross the intersection with care. A short distance later you will cross to your right to follow the Avenida de Oviedo through and out of town. From here the camino passes along smaller paved roads, through some residential areas with brightly colored homes.
In Mieres the camino splits into two directions. Turn right.
Just beyond Castañera the camino joins the N-634 for a short while as it enters Colloto.
Just beyond Castañera the camino joins the N-634 for a short while as it enters Colloto.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 225 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 32.7 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.