Dragonte route... Looks wonderful. Anyone taken it?

Dubbydub,

To read what fellow Forum members think about the Dragonate route see this earlier thread. >> el-camino-frances/topic11517.html. It is certainly not a place for either inexperience or for crossing in winter ! Have you considered walking the Valcarlos alternate from SJPdP to Roncevalles instead of the Napoleon route? It,too, is lovely. You walk through the mountains as opposed to over the mountains. It is the only way for me! See the Forum thread for more info >> el-camino-frances/topic16075.html

Happy planning and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

Everyone seems to get, more lost for some than others! Maps are very useful, but David had maps and spent some time "bewildered."

Chime in, David!!

I took the Dragonte route last September. I became interested in hiking it after reading about it on this forum. At Villafranca I asked a couple of young bucks (I being 44 at the time) if they would be interested in taking this alternate route and they agreed to join me. You see, I had already taken two other alternate trips (Yuso y Suso and Valle del Silencio) and felt emboldened by the experience of being "off the Camino". I do recommend having a companion when doing so, however. On the Dragonte route my hiking partners and I felt as though we had the Camino entirely to ourselves if just for that day. These are definitely the roads less taken, and they do make all the difference! The Brierly guide is accurate as far as I could tell. We didn't get lost, but it was important to stay focused on the guide. I felt great relief when we arrived at Celia's bar in Villasande. She was nothing short of wonderful; feeding us fresh fruits and vegetables from her garden along with cold drinks and bocadillos. Be sure to have water and food before you leave Villafranca though, as Celia's is a long way off and the only stop for nourishment. Also, she only opens for the odd traveler who finds her place! Be sure to ring her bell and/or call out for her. She will be glad to see you!
Dragonte is a long day over three mountain peaks/valleys, but it is so worth it. I felt absolutely exhausted as I trudged up the hill into La Faba. I don't recommend trying to make it all the way to O'Cebriero unless you are in excellent shape. For me it would have been way too much. La Faba was delightful and I really enjoyed staying at the German Confraternity, rejoining our fellow peregrinos, singing songs, and sharing tales of the Dragonte route!
Buen Camino!

Hola Dubbydub

I took the dragonte route two years ago and we had some stunning views up there. It's not so difficult to follow but you need to bring food and water for the whole (long) day. I agree with Harry_Murph that it's best to aim for La Faba... there was little chance that I could have got all the way up to Cebreiro as it's quite strenuous. I posted a few notes and a few pictures from it on a previous thread:

el-camino-frances/topic5436.html

Hope you enjoy it
Chris

I've PM'd a couple of forum members that have taken the Dragonte route in the last 2 years, both confirm that Brierleys guidelines on it are spot on but the particular place to be careful of is the part after Moral de Valcarce where you have walk down a stream to the right for a short distance before joining onto another path, the reports advise that there appears to be a 'straight ahead' path when you reach the stream but this will bring you off route, weather being reasonable on the day, I'm planning on the Dragonte route about June 10th this year, all going well I'll post a report on how it went.

Buen camino

Seamus

http://supersullivan.wordpress.com/2013 ... saking-me/

Hello Dragonte lovers,

For additional maps on the Dragonte route, you can download those two maps:
http://www.lamiradacircular.com/english ... tapa12.pdf
http://www.lamiradacircular.com/english ... tapa13.pdf
Those awesome maps are part of La Miradar Circular - http://www.lamiradacircular.com/ but can be used for the Dragonte route. There are a lot of paths (in yellow) on those maps, but not all are marked on those maps. As you can see, La Miradar Circular is a part of the Dragonte route between Villasinde and Las Herrerias.

http://vimeo.com/41684856

The vimeo video has a great little section on the Dragonte route. The whole series is worth looking in on too.


Buen Camino.

Nice vids, Gunnar! Acebo to O Cebriero really has some beautiful mountains.You captured it well. El mejor camino.

Well thank you again for the compliments.
Do you know I stil regret not doing the part from San Fiz de Seo till Las Herrerias. I hope one day to walk that part and off course to show it.