The Camino Primitivo-Oviedo to Santiago (11 days)

[Richard Martin]

Hello Everyone:

I recently walked the Camino Primitivo. It was an incredible experience. At times, I was confused as to what distances I would need to travel daily. I can tell you from my experience, if you are fit and willing to push yourself the final two days, an 11 day walk from Oviedo to Santiago is very do-able.

Here is how I did it:

Day 1: Oviedo to San Juan de Villapanada
Day 2: San Juan de Villapanada to El Espin
Day 3: El Espin to Campiello
Day 4: Campiello to Bercucedo (via Las Hospitales)
Day 5: Bercucedo to Castro
Day 6: Castro to A Fonsagrada
Day 7: A Fonsagrada to O Cadavo
Day 8: O Cadavo to Lugo
Day 9: Lugo to Ferreira
Day 10: Ferreira to Arzua
Day 11: Arzua to Santiago de Compostela

Last two days were about 40 km each, other days varied between 20-35 km. Yes, there were blisters galore, but what is the El Camino without blisters? I would leave around 8 am and usually finished between 3-5 pm.
When planning my trip I couldn't find any posts that took the Las Hospitales route into account (I highly recommend this choice) so I decided to post this for future Primitivo pilgrims. Would also suggest getting an app on your phone with more accurate distance information.
Buen Camino

 

[fortview]

Wow! That is super impressive! The Hospitales route was my absolute favourite day ( and the hardest) on the Primitivo.
No way could I have done it in 11 days!
Well done

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I have found many posts about the hospitales route, including mine . In fact I think there are many more posts about that route than going through Pola.

For those who may be in the OP’s shoes and have not seen much about the Hospitales route:

1.Take it only if the weather is clear. You don’t want to be up there if the weather turns.

2.bring lots of water, and perhaps a snack.

3. There is a place after you pass the hospital ruins where the Camino meets a road. If you do not feel you can do the whole distance between Borres and Berducedo, you can call a taxi to come pick you up at that point.

4. The albergue in Borres is simple but does the job. The bar in the village serves good platos combinados and can make you a tortilla, bocadillo, etc., for breakfast and for the road.

5. Berducdo is a bottleneck with people from two routes coming together. There are a few new options for beds, but be prepared. Next possible place to stay is La Mesa where there are no services at all.

6. It’s a beautiful route, perhaps one of the most beautiful stretches of the many Caminos I have walked.

 

[alaskadiver]

Hello Everyone:

I recently walked the Camino Primitivo. It was an incredible experience. At times, I was confused as to what distances I would need to travel daily. I can tell you from my experience, if you are fit and willing to push yourself the final two days, an 11 day walk from Oviedo to Santiago is very do-able.

Here is how I did it:

Day 1: Oviedo to San Juan de Villapanada
Day 2: San Juan de Villapanada to El Espin
Day 3: El Espin to Campiello
Day 4: Campiello to Bercucedo (via Las Hospitales)
Day 5: Bercucedo to Castro
Day 6: Castro to A Fonsagrada
Day 7: A Fonsagrada to O Cadavo
Day 8: O Cadavo to Lugo
Day 9: Lugo to Ferreira
Day 10: Ferreira to Arzua
Day 11: Arzua to Santiago de Compostela

Last two days were about 40 km each, other days varied between 20-35 km. Yes, there were blisters galore, but what is the El Camino without blisters? I would leave around 8 am and usually finished between 3-5 pm.
When planning my trip I couldn't find any posts that took the Las Hospitales route into account (I highly recommend this choice) so I decided to post this for future Primitivo pilgrims. Would also suggest getting an app on your phone with more accurate distance information.
Buen Camino

I didn't get any blisters and I took the Hospitales. My posts and blog talk about it, as do many others on this forum. We took 14 days and I couldn't imagine rushing it and doing it in 11. We actually want to go back and take 17 days to see all the things we missed.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's a beautiful route.

 

[Richard Martin]

I have found many posts about the hospitales route, including mine . In fact I think there are many more posts about that route than going through Pola.

For those who may be in the OP’s shoes and have not seen much about the Hospitales route:

1.Take it only if the weather is clear. You don’t want to be up there if the weather turns.

2.bring lots of water, and perhaps a snack.

3. There is a place after you pass the hospital ruins where the Camino meets a road. If you do not feel you can do the whole distance between Borres and Berducedo, you can call a taxi to come pick you up at that point.

4. The albergue in Borres is simple but does the job. The bar in the village serves good platos combinados and can make you a tortilla, bocadillo, etc., for breakfast and for the road.

5. Berducdo is a bottleneck with people from two routes coming together. There are a few new options for beds, but be prepared. Next possible place to stay is La Mesa where there are no services at all.

6. It’s a beautiful route, perhaps one of the most beautiful stretches of the many Caminos I have walked.[

I agree many posts about the Hospitales route. My point was that there weren’t a lot of posts that included that r

I have found many posts about the hospitales route, including mine . In fact I think there are many more posts about that route than going through Pola.

For those who may be in the OP’s shoes and have not seen much about the Hospitales route:

1.Take it only if the weather is clear. You don’t want to be up there if the weather turns.

2.bring lots of water, and perhaps a snack.

3. There is a place after you pass the hospital ruins where the Camino meets a road. If you do not feel you can do the whole distance between Borres and Berducedo, you can call a taxi to come pick you up at that point.

4. The albergue in Borres is simple but does the job. The bar in the village serves good platos combinados and can make you a tortilla, bocadillo, etc., for breakfast and for the road.

5. Berducdo is a bottleneck with people from two routes coming together. There are a few new options for beds, but be prepared. Next possible place to stay is La Mesa where there are no services at all.

6. It’s a beautiful route, perhaps one of the most beautiful stretches of the many Caminos I have walked.

I didn't get any blisters and I took the Hospitales. My posts and blog talk about it, as do many others on this forum. We took 14 days and I couldn't imagine rushing it and doing it in 11. We actually want to go back and take 17 days to see all the things we missed.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's a beautiful route.

I didn't get any blisters and I took the Hospitales. My posts and blog talk about it, as do many others on this forum. We took 14 days and I couldn't imagine rushing it and doing it in 11. We actually want to go back and take 17 days to see all the things we missed.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's a beautiful route.

No rushing at all. Just healthy and fit schedule. Most all of the Primitivo pilgrims I walked with did it in 11 or 12 days. We all enjoy our own pace and have our own preferences and abilities. I posted this for those who might want to do the primitive route in less time and enjoy it as much as I did.

 

[alaskadiver]

No rushing at all. Just healthy and fit schedule. Most all of the Primitivo pilgrims I walked with did it in 11 or 12 days. We all enjoy our own pace and have our own preferences and abilities. I posted this for those who might want to do the primitive route in less time and enjoy it as much as I did.

Like I said. Glad you enjoyed your hike on The Primitivo.

 

[Dawn of a new Day]

I too have just finished the Primitivo , about 14 days. Weather has been perfect. Walking more than 28km is too much for me. I climbed over the top. I have had the most amazing weather. One of the best walks, as well as the San Salvador

 

[laineylainey]

Yup, the Primitivo was one of my toughest and most beautiful walks since starting walking on Caminos. I agree with Anemone del Camino, I think one of the factors that makes the highly recommended Hospitales day, is the weather. I was so blessed to have an almost perfect day to do it and will never forget it.
Also as Alaskadiver says there are some great blogs and photos of this magnificent walk on this forum.
Also - no blisters, what a result!!!

 

[Timoteja]

Hello Everyone:

I recently walked the Camino Primitivo. It was an incredible experience. At times, I was confused as to what distances I would need to travel daily. I can tell you from my experience, if you are fit and willing to push yourself the final two days, an 11 day walk from Oviedo to Santiago is very do-able.

Here is how I did it:

Day 1: Oviedo to San Juan de Villapanada
Day 2: San Juan de Villapanada to El Espin
Day 3: El Espin to Campiello
Day 4: Campiello to Bercucedo (via Las Hospitales)
Day 5: Bercucedo to Castro
Day 6: Castro to A Fonsagrada
Day 7: A Fonsagrada to O Cadavo
Day 8: O Cadavo to Lugo
Day 9: Lugo to Ferreira
Day 10: Ferreira to Arzua
Day 11: Arzua to Santiago de Compostela

Last two days were about 40 km each, other days varied between 20-35 km. Yes, there were blisters galore, but what is the El Camino without blisters? I would leave around 8 am and usually finished between 3-5 pm.
When planning my trip I couldn't find any posts that took the Las Hospitales route into account (I highly recommend this choice) so I decided to post this for future Primitivo pilgrims. Would also suggest getting an app on your phone with more accurate distance information.
Buen Camino

Yup, the Primitivo was one of my toughest and most beautiful walks since starting walking on Caminos. I agree with Anemone del Camino, I think one of the factors that makes the highly recommended Hospitales day, is the weather. I was so blessed to have an almost perfect day to do it and will never forget it.
Also as Alaskadiver says there are some great blogs and photos of this magnificent walk on this forum.
Also - no blisters, what a result!!!

Like I said. Glad you enjoyed your hike on The Primitivo.

Hello Everyone:

I recently walked the Camino Primitivo. It was an incredible experience. At times, I was confused as to what distances I would need to travel daily. I can tell you from my experience, if you are fit and willing to push yourself the final two days, an 11 day walk from Oviedo to Santiago is very do-able.

Here is how I did it:

Day 1: Oviedo to San Juan de Villapanada
Day 2: San Juan de Villapanada to El Espin
Day 3: El Espin to Campiello
Day 4: Campiello to Bercucedo (via Las Hospitales)
Day 5: Bercucedo to Castro
Day 6: Castro to A Fonsagrada
Day 7: A Fonsagrada to O Cadavo
Day 8: O Cadavo to Lugo
Day 9: Lugo to Ferreira
Day 10: Ferreira to Arzua
Day 11: Arzua to Santiago de Compostela

Last two days were about 40 km each, other days varied between 20-35 km. Yes, there were blisters galore, but what is the El Camino without blisters? I would leave around 8 am and usually finished between 3-5 pm.
When planning my trip I couldn't find any posts that took the Las Hospitales route into account (I highly recommend this choice) so I decided to post this for future Primitivo pilgrims. Would also suggest getting an app on your phone with more accurate distance information.
Buen Camino

Hello Ianey,

Thank you for your post. I am planning to walk my Camino Primitivo (Hospitales route) end of May and I only have 8 days from Campiello/Borres to Santiago. Good to know its doable!

 

[gns]

I did the primitive in 12 days. It was roughly the same as yours except for after Lugo which was 4 days.

If I wanted to do it in 11 days I think I would try to balance the last three days a bit more by staying at A Seixas which makes the first day longer but gives the opportunity to go beyond Arzua the next day making the final walk to Santiago shorter.

I am not sure I would want to arrive in Santiago at the end of such a long last day as I would expect to be too tired and too late in the day to really take in the experience. But then again each to his own.

 

[20andrew16]

We have done Camino Primitivo in 10 days from Oviedo to Santiago.
It was not so though, although both of us were in good shape.
We have divided stages like this:
Day 1: Oviedo - Cornellana
Day 2: Cornellana - Tineo
Day 3: Tineo -Pola de Allande
Day 4: Pola de Allande - Berducedo
Day 5: Berducedo - Castro
Day 6: Castro - O Cadavo
Day 7: O Cadavo - Lugo
Day 8: Lugo - As Seixas
Day 9: As Seixas - Arzua
Day 10: Arzua - Santiago de Compostela

We have started every day about 7:30 am and on average finish about 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm with exclusion of day 4 when we finished at noon and day 6 when we finished at about 7:00 pm.

 

[Fromchicago]

Hello Everyone:

I recently walked the Camino Primitivo. It was an incredible experience. At times, I was confused as to what distances I would need to travel daily. I can tell you from my experience, if you are fit and willing to push yourself the final two days, an 11 day walk from Oviedo to Santiago is very do-able.

Here is how I did it:

Day 1: Oviedo to San Juan de Villapanada
Day 2: San Juan de Villapanada to El Espin
Day 3: El Espin to Campiello
Day 4: Campiello to Bercucedo (via Las Hospitales)
Day 5: Bercucedo to Castro
Day 6: Castro to A Fonsagrada
Day 7: A Fonsagrada to O Cadavo
Day 8: O Cadavo to Lugo
Day 9: Lugo to Ferreira
Day 10: Ferreira to Arzua
Day 11: Arzua to Santiago de Compostela

Last two days were about 40 km each, other days varied between 20-35 km. Yes, there were blisters galore, but what is the El Camino without blisters? I would leave around 8 am and usually finished between 3-5 pm.
When planning my trip I couldn't find any posts that took the Las Hospitales route into account (I highly recommend this choice) so I decided to post this for future Primitivo pilgrims. Would also suggest getting an app on your phone with more accurate distance information.
Buen Camino

Hi Richard, I am looking into following your route.. Any more insight since this post? What month did you complete?

 

[Tincatinker]

Hi Richard, I am looking into following your route.. Any more insight since this post? What month did you complete?

Richard hasn’t been on the forum since 2019. Looks like he walked in Autumn/ Fall of 2017

 

[Fromchicago]

Any insight on walking end of March?

 

[trecile]

Any insight on walking end of March?

You can enter "March" into the search box, then on the drop down menu to the right of the search box that says "Everywhere" choose "This forum."

Here are the results that I got with that search: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...t=post&c[child_nodes]=1&c[nodes][0]=34&o=date

 

[MikeJS]

Hello Ianey,

Thank you for your post. I am planning to walk my Camino Primitivo (Hospitales route) end of May and I only have 8 days from Campiello/Borres to Santiago. Good to know its doable!

You can do the whole of the Primitivo in 8 days if you like walking! : https://mikesroaming.blogspot.com/2019/