Camino Primitivo from Oviedo — Self-Guided From Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela

Oviedo is where it all begins. Visit the Cathedral of San Salvador and its Cámara Santa, which holds relics such as the Holy Shroud (Santo Sudario) and the Cross of the Angels — as tradition has it, "whoever goes to Santiago and not to the Savior visits the servant and forgets the Lord." If you have time, go up Monte Naranco to see the pre-Romanesque churches of Santa María and San Miguel de Lillo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The way out of Oviedo follows quiet neighborhoods and soon enters the Asturian countryside, among meadows and villages such as Escamplero. The highlight of the day is the medieval bridge of Peñaflor over the Nalón River, before you reach Grado, a market town known for its Sunday market and good Asturian cooking.

The stage climbs to the sanctuary of El Fresno, with wide views over the valley, and passes the Romanesque monastery of San Salvador de Cornellana. The trail then continues through the woods to Salas, where the medieval tower and the collegiate church hold the tomb of the inquisitor Fernando de Valdés, founder of the University of Oviedo.

A stage of steady climbs through woods and hillsides, passing through Bodenaya, La Espina and El Pedregal. Your effort is rewarded with views of western Asturias. In Tineo, the Campo de San Roque serves as a natural viewpoint over the valleys and mountains the Camino will cross.

The longest stage of the itinerary calls for an early start. The trail crosses ridges and woods, with the option of a detour to the monastery of Santa María la Real de Obona, linked to the Jacobean tradition, and continues through Campiello and Borres. The day ends in Pola de Allande, in the valley of the Nisón River, with its Cienfuegos palace.

Today is the day of the big climb to the Puerto del Palo, at more than 1,100 meters, the highest point of the Camino Primitivo, with mountain views in every direction. The descent passes through Montefurado and Lago, whose church is flanked by a thousand-year-old yew tree, and through Berducedo, before reaching the small village of La Mesa.

The stage starts on high ground and then makes a long descent to the Grandas de Salime reservoir, built in the 1950s on the Navia River, a striking landscape of water among mountains. The final climb leads to Grandas de Salime, where the ethnographic museum shows how people lived in these mountains.

After Grandas, the trail passes near the Chao Samartín hillfort, a fortified Iron Age settlement, and climbs to the Alto do Acebo, where the Camino leaves Asturias and enters Galicia. In Fonsagrada, whose name recalls a legend of a "sacred fountain," you spend your first night on Galician soil.

A stage in the Galician mountains, with ups and downs through Padrón and over the Alto de Montouto, home to the ruins of the old pilgrim hospital founded in the 14th century. The Camino then continues through Paradavella and A Lastra to Cádavo Baleira, a small town in the middle of the mountains.

The Camino passes the church of Santa María de Vilabade, called the "cathedral of Castroverde" because of its size, and the tower of Castroverde castle, before slowly descending to Lugo. The city is encircled by a Roman wall more than 2 km long, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which you can walk along the top of.

The way out of Lugo crosses the Minho River on the Roman bridge and continues through a landscape of fields, woods and scattered villages. In San Román da Retorta, an ancient Roman milestone reminds you that this road is far older than the pilgrimage. The stage ends in Ferreira, beside the river that gives the place its name.

A day of fields and small villages to Melide, where the Camino Primitivo joins the Camino Francés. In Melide, the stone cross next to the chapel of San Roque is considered the oldest in Galicia, dating from the 14th century. It is also the capital of pulpo à feira (Galician-style octopus) — your first meal in the company of pilgrims from every route.

A short stage full of water: the Camino crosses several streams and passes through Boente and Ribadiso da Baixo, where an old pilgrim hospital beside the Iso River has been restored as an albergue. The arrival in Arzúa, with its church of Santiago and the chapel of the Magdalena, is your chance to try the local cheese.

The second-to-last day of walking passes through Preguntoiro and As Quintas, among oak and eucalyptus woods and stone villages. The pace is relaxed and the terrain gentle. After fourteen days in the mountains, arriving in O Pedrouzo, the seat of the municipality of O Pino, feels like the eve of a celebration.

The last stage passes through Amenal and Vilamaior and skirts the airport to Monte do Gozo, where you can see the Cathedral towers. You enter Santiago through the San Lázaro neighborhood to the historic center. In Obradoiro Square ends the same route that King Alfonso II walked in the 9th century.

To wrap up the trip, visit the crypt where the Apostle rests and the Cathedral Museum, with its cloister and tapestries, and stroll through Praza da Quintana. After 313 km from Oviedo, the Pilgrim's Mass at noon is the most moving farewell to the oldest Camino.