Lugo - The Green Way - Finishing on Del Norte

I would strongly recommend the Camino Verde. Be sure to pre-book accommodation in Friol.

Can't help with Albergues on the Norte but it is possible to aviod the crowds of the Frances almost entirely.

nuri_cze said:

Buen Camino, peregrinos!
I've recently read through a few diaries of other pilgrims and noticed that some people recommend leaving Lugo on the Green Way, connecting Friol and the Primitivo with Camino Del Norte. Most of the pilgrims who have went this way praised it for forests and lushness as instead the way through Melide has been called "dry".

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Many people recommend the Camiño Verde but it is unfair to qualify the way through Melide as "dry" because is also green.

The main draw to this detour that connects the Primitivo to the end of the Norte is that it avoids some of the Camino Frances. The Camino Frances, especially from Sarria to Santiago is becoming very popular and at times oversubscribed. This situation is made worse by the larger seasonal crowds from June through the first-half of September.

Many folks doing the Primitivo will take the detour just outside of Lugo to follow the green marked route through Friol and to Sobrade dos Monxes. There, the detour joins the final day or two of the Camino de Norte.

From there, you can choose to follow one of three routes that all intersect the Camino Frances at different points. IMHO, the 'best' of three routes to follow is the one that drops you are Lavacolla. This is the westernmost point along the Camino Frances you can join the main flow, before entering Santiago.

The Wise Pilgrim Guides and App for the Norte contains a thorough description of how to end the Norte at the Frances using one of the three routes.

Hope this helps.

Maybe this helps:

Camino Verde runs from Lugo (on the Primitivo) to Sobrado dos Monxes (on the Del Norte). Between Lugo and Sobrado you can spend the night in Friol.

- Lugo - Friol: 24.7 km.
- Friol - Sobrado dos Monxes: 24.2 km.
- Sobrado dos Monxes - Arzúa: 22.0 km.

Accomodation:
- Friol: Casa Benigno: http://casabenigno.com/pension
- Sobrado dos Monxes and Arzúa: various: https://www.gronze.com/etapa/sobrado-dos-monxes/arzua

After Arzúa: continue on the Frances.


Alternative
11.4 km. after Sobrado dos Monxes the Camino del Norte runs through the village of Boimorto. At this point you can continue the main route to Arzúa to join the Frances. Instead you can also take an alternative route, which joins the Frances at the town of O Cruceiro, which is about 6 km. west of Arzúa. The Albergue de Peregrinos Boimorto has printed information about this alternative route.

The hospitalero in Boimorto recommended this route to me as I talked to him about my reluctance to join the crowds on the Frances. So I've walked this alternative route in 2016 and really liked it. Although the route is on small asphalt roads (there is hardly any traffic), I really enjoyed the extra peacefulness before joining the crowded Frances. This way I spent only 1 night on the Frances before arriving in Santiago (instead of 2 nights if I would have walked to Arzua, or 3 nights if you walk the Primitivo from Melide).