Good news: the Invierno has doubled in popularity, according to 2018 stats!

[Athena Atterdag]

Found this article today via one of the Facebook groups dedicated to the Invierno:

El Camino de Invierno duplicó durante el año 2018 el número de peregrinos

Way to go!

 

[econodan]

Wow, that's amazing and positive news. The route maintenance must be much improved from when we walked in 2014; at that time some sections were completely overgrown and we had to detour onto nearby roads to get through. It's a wonderful Camino. We especially enjoyed the sections along the Rio Sil, and walking through the Ribera Sacra wine country.

 

[Athena Atterdag]

Wow, that's amazing and positive news. The route maintenance must be much improved from when we walked in 2014; at that time some sections were completely overgrown and we had to detour onto nearby roads to get through. It's a wonderful Camino. We especially enjoyed the sections along the Rio Sil, and walking through the Ribera Sacra wine country.

I walked it in late December and early January, and I found it very well-marked!

The stretch along the Sil and through the Ribeira Sacra was my favourite part, two

 

[Eric G]

Same here. Walked it in September and it was well marked. What a great Camino!

 

[Davecrossland]

I am walking it in September 2019. Bought the guide but it doesn't really give information on location of alburgues. Any information would be useful.

 

[Eric G]

Purchase the "Wise Pilgrim " App on your phone. Also, if you search on this site, some guides are available as well. These worked just fine as it is very well marked. Only a few albergues on this route. Be financially prepared to stay in a few hotels or Hostels. Also, be prepared to carry a few meals with you as this route lacks the logistics for meals and accommodations. Absolutely stunning Camino.

 

[Davecrossland]

Purchase the "Wise Pilgrim " App on your phone. Also, if you search on this site, some guides are available as well. These worked just fine as it is very well marked. Only a few albergues on this route. Be financially prepared to stay in a few hotels or Hostels. Also, be prepared to carry a few meals with you as this route lacks the logistics for meals and accommodations. Absolutely stunning Camino.

Thank you Eric.

 

[Athena Atterdag]

I am walking it in September 2019. Bought the guide but it doesn't really give information on location of alburgues. Any information would be useful.

The forum guide lists almost all if not all accommodations on the Invierno! There are very few albergues indeed, but quite a lot of inexpensive pensiones and hostales. I second Eric's advice to carry some food with you, too.

Here's my detailed and very recent account on the Invierno, including detailed information on accommodations and bars/supermarkets.

 

[Stroller]

Not entirely sure why more people on a camino is positive, for some the quite less used ones are the most attractive purely because there are less people.

 

[Eric G]

I walked it in September and only saw 4 other pilgrims the whole 300km. What an awesome Camimo!!
Now, dont ruin it by advertising!!

 

[peregrina2000]

Not entirely sure why more people on a camino is positive, for some the quite less used ones are the most attractive purely because there are less people.

Well, Stroller, I think that the main positive is that unless a camino reaches a critical mass, the private initiative to build albergues (and other services for pilgrims) will not materialize. Right now on the Invierno, there are only two pilgrim-specific albergues, and they are about 12 kms apart from each other. One town, Pobra de Brollón, has responded to the closing of the one private place in town with an offer of the sports center for pilgrims and plans to build an albergue, so it it happening slowly. There is lots of talk about opening albergues along the way, but until the pilgrims materialize, the real push is not there. The proverbial chicken and egg problem.

Fewer people is great, no people is too lonely for many. I know there are a few of us who relish walking caminos where we sleep alone and meet no one, but as someone who has walked the Invierno several times, it would be great to meet a few others along the way. And from the vantage point of all these dying villages, the camino very much seems like a great opportunity for revitalization. Of course, to use another egg metaphor, it’s like the goose that laid the golden egg — how can you get to that magic “just right” number of pilgrims without the massification that makes people search out these untraveled caminos in the first place!

 

[peregrina2000]

I am walking it in September 2019. Bought the guide but it doesn't really give information on location of alburgues. Any information would be useful.

Check out the forum Invierno guide. Hot off the presses, 2019 version.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/resources/invierno-forum-guide.535/download

Sorry if i keep posting information about it, but it is too good a resource for Invierno pilgrims to be hidden away and un-used by new Invierno pilgrims.

 

[robhel]

Hello to the Invierno Club!
I will be walking the Invierno in May and have been following this forum with great interest.
Many thanks to everyone for all the info and special thanks for the latest Invierno Guide. What a great job!