A Route like the VdlP?

[Robo]

Yes I know, I'm always planning and considering different routes.
But planning is fun.

Pat has decided she might like to walk another Camino with me.
We were considering Le Puy.

But I'm feeling a pull towards something like the VdlP.
I really enjoyed that. And I think she would.

The lack of Pilgrims.
The remoteness.
A few interesting towns along the way.
But most of all it was the landscape.
Those wide open landscapes, big skies and wonderful walking paths.
Not much road walking at all.

And just enough infrastructure that I could keep below 25 kms except for a couple of days.

For those who have walked a few of the more remote Caminos, any suggestions?
I'm not too concerned about completing a route.
We might walk for 2-3 weeks, or more. See how we go.

Spain only please.

I'm starting to look at the Lana, Mozarabe, Levante, Madrid....

 

[Elena peregrina]

We

Yes I know, I'm always planning and considering different routes.
But planning is fun.

Pat has decided she might like to walk another Camino with me.
We were considering Le Puy.

But I'm feeling a pull towards something like the VdlP.
I really enjoyed that. And I think she would.

The lack of Pilgrims.
The remoteness.
A few interesting towns along the way.
But most of all it was the landscape.
Those wide open landscapes, big skies and wonderful walking paths.
Not much road walking at all.

And just enough infrastructure that I could keep below 25 kms except for a couple of days.

For those who have walked a few of the more remote Caminos, any suggestions?
I'm not too concerned about completing a route.
We might walk for 2-3 weeks, or more. See how we go.

Spain only please.

I'm starting to look at the Lana, Mozarabe, Levante, Madrid....

We did the Lana in May 2022 and loved it. We started in Alicante and finished in Burgos. We met only 2 other pilgrims in the 4 weeks that we walked. There were albergues along the way - very rarely used ones so you had to call a day or two ahead to let them know you were coming and where you could pick up the key. Mainly small villages. If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll pass on our stages ( from memory) it fits your criteria of approx 25km a day.

 

[davejsy]

We

We did the Lana in May 2022 and loved it. We started in Alicante and finished in Burgos. We met only 2 other pilgrims in the 4 weeks that we walked. There were albergues along the way - very rarely used ones so you had to call a day or two ahead to let them know you were coming and where you could pick up the key. Mainly small villages. If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll pass on our stages ( from memory) it fits your criteria of approx 25km a day.

Having had a quick look on the Google this sounds a beautiful Camino to do one day

Distinctive features.

• The friendliness of the local people; many villages rarely see strangers but the welcome for the occasional pilgrim is invariably a very warm one.
• Very few pilgrims; if you like solitary caminos that offer ample opportunity for reflection and contemplation, this is certainly one for you. CSJ members report meeting just 2-3 other pilgrims over the 700 km; arriving in Burgos will be a shock!
• The timeless attractiveness of small Spanish villages, with their castles and churches, many dating back to the Middle Ages. Some sites such as Alcalá del Júcar are simply spectacular.
• Cuenca, a World Heritage Site, between 2 gorges with superb views and many fine buildings. Sigüenza rivals it for the quality of its architecture.
• Churches are often closed, cathedrals and monasteries, especially Santo Domingo de Silos.
• Landscape that is attractive throughout and truly impressive at times, such as the gorges of the Río Dulce or Río Caracena. A route of birdsong, hoopoes, eagles, countless vultures, deer, boars…
• Most of the route is way off the tourist track and you will find hotel/hostal and meal prices very reasonable.

 

[jungleboy]

The lack of Pilgrims.
The remoteness.
A few interesting towns along the way.
But most of all it was the landscape.
Those wide open landscapes, big skies and wonderful walking paths.
Not much road walking at all.

Well that exactly describes the Caminho Nascente (link to my highlights article), and it’s obvious that the Nascente would be the closest camino to the VdlP because it follows the same trajectory but ~80km further west. However…

Spain only please.

I’m not sure why you are unwilling to consider Portugal, but so be it.

 

[J Willhaus]

Mozarabe? Long route, but seems well supported at least early on?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

The lack of Pilgrims.
The remoteness.
A few interesting towns along the way.
But most of all it was the landscape.
Those wide open landscapes, big skies and wonderful walking paths.
Not much road walking at all.

And just enough infrastructure that I could keep below 25 kms except for a couple of days.

Of your suggestions, @Robo, I have only walked the Madrid Way starting in Segovia, and think it ticks most of your boxes. It also is quite flat, but if you start from Madrid you will get additional landscapes those first few days.
Segovia's ancient but fully intact aqueduct, it's Alcazar castle, the castle at Coca, interesting churches, and an easy side trip by bus to the city of Valladolid for an overnight is another amazing highlight I'm glad I didn't pass up.
The Madrid Way ends in Sahagan, and on the way back to the airport, we spent two nights in Avila, which is fairly close to Madrid. I have read it has the most well preserved, beautiful ramparts to walk in all of Spain and the views were outstanding
We were gone from home for exactly three weeks on this walk.
My enthusiasm bubbles over as I think about my recent memories from last October.

 

[peregrina2000]

I love this type of question! Choosing a camino is always so hard, but such a fun way to spend some time. I’ll give you my reactions based on the things you mentioned in your first post. BTW, just in case you haven’t seen them, a bunch of forum members had a lot of fun during covid confinement making very detailed threads for most of the routes you mentioned (maybe too detailed even for a planner like you, Robo!). We did one for the Lana (part 1 and part 2), the Madrid, the Levante, and the Mozárabe. Actually I can’t find a forum planning thread on the Mozárabe, though I thought we did one. But the thread I’ve linked to puts out some ideas about shorter Mozárabe stages.

The remoteness — If by remote you mean far from villages and towns, the Lana offers a few days through gorges that I would describe as remote. But for the rest, I think you are always in close distance to ”civilization.” None of these have anything like some of the days on the Olvidado or Salvador, where you are pretty much alone out there in the mountains and where cell phone coverage is spotty. But all of the caminos you mention are very untraveled, so you will have plenty of walking alone time even though the camino is not remote and you’re never very far from a highway or road, or the next town or village.

A few interesting towns along the way — Here I’d pick the Lana or the Levante. The Levante has a very large number of stops in towns that have beautiful plazas, churches, occasionally museums (like Dulcinea’s supposed home). The Lana also stops in some beautiful places, and there are some Roman ruins and restored monasteries that are slight off-route detours, but I’d say the Levante has more of this. The Mozárabe also has a lot of nice castle towns, which gives you plenty to do in the afternoon. Some of those castles are just beautifully restored.

Those wide open landscapes, big skies and wonderful walking paths.For me, the Levante wins, or the Mozárabe — so many days on the Levante walking through huge open fields of green, with a castle perched on a hill that you could see for many kms and thought you’d never get there. Mozárabe has a lot of those days too, but the landscape is not as wide open. The Mózarabe has a lot of olive groves, the Levante (and the Lana to some extent) a bazillion vineyards. The Madrid also has lots of meseta so you’ll get those wide open landscapes there as well.

Not much road walking at all. I think the Madrid is the camino with the least amount of road walking, though it does have some walking on an asphalt bike trail at the beginning. This is probably due to the fact that the Camino de Madrid was constructed and routed relatively recently so it wasn’t a camino that followed ancient paths that became roads that became highways. The first four days on the Levante are almost exclusively asphalt, but once you get out of the Valencia suburbs the asphalt takes you through rice paddies and fruit orchards. But it is almost all asphalt to Xátiva. The Mozárabe has what I would say is the normal amount of road walking, but it adds the kicker of a few days through rocky river beds. We took the alternative mountain route to start the Lana, from Villajoyosa, but I have read that the first few days on the “regular” Lana have a lot of asphalt. This is inevitable, I think, when you leave from a big city that has lots of suburban development.

And just enough infrastructure that I could keep below 25 kms except for a couple of days. I think that with the kind of careful planning that you do, you could do this on almost any of these routes. I did walk very long distances on the Levante, but that was just because I met two French peregrinos and we hit it off, and my choice was walk alone or walk with them. They were the only two I met until joining up with the Sanabrés in Zamora. But I think there were usually ways to break things up though. You’ve probably read about the exceptional hospitality on the Mozárabe, with its amazing set of albergues that take you all the way from Almería to Granada.

If having some pilgrim companionship is a factor for you, though you’re not likely to get much on any of these, I think the Mozárabe and the Madrid would be the most likely.

And if monumental cities are your thing, which I don’t think they are, you’ve got them on all of these routes.

Levante - Valencia, Toledo, Ávila, Zamora
Madrid - Segovia
Lana - Cuenca, Burgos
Mozárabe - Almería, Granada, Córdoba

Happy planning, I’ll be interested to see which one you pick.

 

[JerryStroebele]

Mozarabe starting in Almeria. The waymarking, the albergues and the support by the association is ---- stunning. Like the vistas! The guidebook by the Confraternity of St. James is now available. Buen Camino

 

[debigetsout]

I love this type of question! Choosing a camino is always so hard, but such a fun way to spend some time. I’ll give you my reactions based on the things you mentioned in your first post. BTW, just in case you haven’t seen them, a bunch of forum members had a lot of fun during covid confinement making very detailed threads for most of the routes you mentioned (maybe too detailed even for a planner like you, Robo!). We did one for the Lana (part 1 and part 2), the Madrid, the Levante, and the Mozárabe. Actually I can’t find a forum planning thread on the Mozárabe, though I thought we did one. But the thread I’ve linked to puts out some ideas about shorter Mozárabe stages.

I also love this kind of posting, and even more, this (P2000) kind of response! We leave for the Mozarabe in a couple of weeks, and my partner is busy consulting the many helpful postings about the route by forum members, various guides, and coordinating them with GPS tracks. We will make them available on the forum when ready.

 

[Kev&Kath]

Yes I know, I'm always planning and considering different routes.
But planning is fun.

Pat has decided she might like to walk another Camino with me.
We were considering Le Puy.

But I'm feeling a pull towards something like the VdlP.
I really enjoyed that. And I think she would.

The lack of Pilgrims.
The remoteness.
A few interesting towns along the way.
But most of all it was the landscape.
Those wide open landscapes, big skies and wonderful walking paths.
Not much road walking at all.

And just enough infrastructure that I could keep below 25 kms except for a couple of days.

For those who have walked a few of the more remote Caminos, any suggestions?
I'm not too concerned about completing a route.
We might walk for 2-3 weeks, or more. See how we go.

Spain only please.

I'm starting to look at the Lana, Mozarabe, Levante, Madrid....

Robo...my wife and I walked the VdlP last year and, like you, thoroughly enjoyed this pilgrimage route to Santiago. Now also back at the planning desk and looking closely at the Camino del Sureste out of Alicante. Seems it will present a good walking challenge and, importantly, pass through areas of Spain we have not yet visited. Will be following your groundwork closely!! Buen Camino.

 

[peregrina2000]

Now also back at the planning desk and looking closely at the Camino del Sureste out of Alicante

I’ve got this on my (very long) list, too, even though if you’ve walked the Lana and the Levante you’ve already walked bits and pieces of the Sureste. The Levante groups and the Sureste groups used to be have a lot of bad blood between them, with people crossing out arrows on the Levante to take people over to the Sureste, and vice versa. They seem to have realized that cooperation and collaboration only helps both caminos.

This so-called “metro map” shows you just how intertwined they are.

 

[Kev&Kath]

I’ve got this on my (very long) list, too, even though if you’ve walked the Lana and the Levante you’ve already walked bits and pieces of the Sureste. The Levante groups and the Sureste groups used to be have a lot of bad blood between them, with people crossing out arrows on the Levante to take people over to the Sureste, and vice versa. They seem to have realized that cooperation and collaboration only helps both caminos.

This so-called “metro map” shows you just how intertwined they are.

View attachment 162391

Thank you so much for the 'metro map'...will be very useful. I've watched a couple of YouTube videos on the Sureste and the scenery looks amazing. Definitely sounds like a track less traveled which appeals.

BTW caught you on Dave Whitson's Camino Podcast just yesterday (I'm behind in my listening)! Really enjoyed listening to your perspective...you even touched on giving some of these more unknown Caminos a try. Thank you!!

 

[Robo]

I love this type of question! Choosing a camino is always so hard, but such a fun way to spend some time. I’ll give you my reactions based on the things you mentioned in your first post. BTW, just in case you haven’t seen them, a bunch of forum members had a lot of fun during covid confinement making very detailed threads for most of the routes you mentioned (maybe too detailed even for a planner like you, Robo!). We did one for the Lana (part 1 and part 2), the Madrid, the Levante, and the Mozárabe. Actually I can’t find a forum planning thread on the Mozárabe, though I thought we did one. But the thread I’ve linked to puts out some ideas about shorter Mozárabe stages.

The remoteness — If by remote you mean far from villages and towns, the Lana offers a few days through gorges that I would describe as remote. But for the rest, I think you are always in close distance to ”civilization.” None of these have anything like some of the days on the Olvidado or Salvador, where you are pretty much alone out there in the mountains and where cell phone coverage is spotty. But all of the caminos you mention are very untraveled, so you will have plenty of walking alone time even though the camino is not remote and you’re never very far from a highway or road, or the next town or village.

A few interesting towns along the way — Here I’d pick the Lana or the Levante. The Levante has a very large number of stops in towns that have beautiful plazas, churches, occasionally museums (like Dulcinea’s supposed home). The Lana also stops in some beautiful places, and there are some Roman ruins and restored monasteries that are slight off-route detours, but I’d say the Levante has more of this. The Mozárabe also has a lot of nice castle towns, which gives you plenty to do in the afternoon. Some of those castles are just beautifully restored.

Those wide open landscapes, big skies and wonderful walking paths.For me, the Levante wins, or the Mozárabe — so many days on the Levante walking through huge open fields of green, with a castle perched on a hill that you could see for many kms and thought you’d never get there. Mozárabe has a lot of those days too, but the landscape is not as wide open. The Mózarabe has a lot of olive groves, the Levante (and the Lana to some extent) a bazillion vineyards. The Madrid also has lots of meseta so you’ll get those wide open landscapes there as well.

Not much road walking at all. I think the Madrid is the camino with the least amount of road walking, though it does have some walking on an asphalt bike trail at the beginning. This is probably due to the fact that the Camino de Madrid was constructed and routed relatively recently so it wasn’t a camino that followed ancient paths that became roads that became highways. The first four days on the Levante are almost exclusively asphalt, but once you get out of the Valencia suburbs the asphalt takes you through rice paddies and fruit orchards. But it is almost all asphalt to Xátiva. The Mozárabe has what I would say is the normal amount of road walking, but it adds the kicker of a few days through rocky river beds. We took the alternative mountain route to start the Lana, from Villajoyosa, but I have read that the first few days on the “regular” Lana have a lot of asphalt. This is inevitable, I think, when you leave from a big city that has lots of suburban development.

And just enough infrastructure that I could keep below 25 kms except for a couple of days. I think that with the kind of careful planning that you do, you could do this on almost any of these routes. I did walk very long distances on the Levante, but that was just because I met two French peregrinos and we hit it off, and my choice was walk alone or walk with them. They were the only two I met until joining up with the Sanabrés in Zamora. But I think there were usually ways to break things up though. You’ve probably read about the exceptional hospitality on the Mozárabe, with its amazing set of albergues that take you all the way from Almería to Granada.

If having some pilgrim companionship is a factor for you, though you’re not likely to get much on any of these, I think the Mozárabe and the Madrid would be the most likely.

And if monumental cities are your thing, which I don’t think they are, you’ve got them on all of these routes.

Levante - Valencia, Toledo, Ávila, Zamora
Madrid - Segovia
Lana - Cuenca, Burgos
Mozárabe - Almería, Granada, Córdoba

Happy planning, I’ll be interested to see which one you pick.

Many thanks @peregrina2000 for taking the time.
This is really helpful.
I suppose there is one element, that I didn't really consider.
And that is the historical significance of the route, as a Camino.
Are any of these 'traditional' routes?
That would 'swing' it for me.