Which route to take?

[ElizaMetere]

I am planning to do my first pilgrimage in mid March 2016. I have only 2 weeks this time and would like to take a route that has lots of nature and mountains/hills. I don't want to walk through lots of cities and roads. I do yearn for hills and nature very much.
So I am wondering which would be a good route, where to start to end in Santiago de Compostella? Grateful for any suggestions.

 

[Dave]

Hi Eliza, welcome to the forum. My first thought is the Camino Primitivo, as you could walk from Oviedo to Santiago within your timeline. It's wonderfully rural, with lots of quality time spent hiking through hills and mountains. It's physically demanding, so you would need to be more fit for this than the Francés, but if you like hills I'm guessing you train well!

The one catch... you're hiking in March. That means the weather may be iffy. With fewer stops along the way, and more rugged terrain, you're more at the mercy of nature on the Primitivo. For that reason, you might still consider the Francés from León to Santiago. You'd have one good mountain crossing to O Cebreiro, and Galicia has nicely undulating terrain. After León, large urban areas are very limited. And, if rough weather hits, it'll be more manageable on this route.

 

[SabsP]

Hi Eliza and welcome here. Two weeks would give you enough time to walk the Ingles from Ferrol to Santiago and then to Finisterre or Muxia. Lots of nature on the Ingles and some demanding hills too. Or you could walk from Porto to SdC... Some days walking by the seaside,
yes some roadside walking too but also some hills. It took me a leisurely 13 days and I loved all of it!!!
Enjoy browsing this forum!!

 

[SYates]

I am planning to do my first pilgrimage in mid March 2016. I have only 2 weeks this time and would like to take a route that has lots of nature and mountains/hills. I don't want to walk through lots of cities and roads. I do yearn for hills and nature very much.
So I am wondering which would be a good route, where to start to end in Santiago de Compostella? Grateful for any suggestions.

The Camino Francés, starting in Ponferrada, would actually fulfil all your requirements. Ponferrada, 210km from Santiago, is easy to reach by public transport and it is also the last biggish town until Santiago. You could also start a little bit earlier on the way in Astorga and pass by the emblematic Cruz de Ferro and the Montes de Leon. For the stage to Sarria I recommend the Samos variant, really magical Galician forest paths ;-) Buen Camino, SY

 

[ElizaMetere]

Hi Eliza, welcome to the forum. My first thought is the Camino Primitivo, as you could walk from Oviedo to Santiago within your timeline. It's wonderfully rural, with lots of quality time spent hiking through hills and mountains. It's physically demanding, so you would need to be more fit for this than the Francés, but if you like hills I'm guessing you train well!

The one catch... you're hiking in March. That means the weather may be iffy. With fewer stops along the way, and more rugged terrain, you're more at the mercy of nature on the Primitivo. For that reason, you might still consider the Francés from León to Santiago. You'd have one good mountain crossing to O Cebreiro, and Galicia has nicely undulating terrain. After León, large urban areas are very limited. And, if rough weather hits, it'll be more manageable on this route.

Thank you Dave. I have been looking into this too, but I am a little concerned that everyone says it is physically very demanding and since I have never done a pilgrimage like this before I have to say I am a bit scared about it, especially since I am going on my own. They say sometimes its 40km between the possible accommodation? And if it is very tough what if I don't make it until the dark?

 

[ElizaMetere]

Thank you Dave. I have been looking into this too, but I am a little concerned that everyone says it is physically very demanding and since I have never done a pilgrimage like this before I have to say I am a bit scared about it, especially since I am going on my own. They say sometimes its 40km between the possible accommodation? And if it is very tough what if I don't make it until the dark?

But I also have to admit this sounds most exciting for me too

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Thank you Dave. I have been looking into this too, but I am a little concerned that everyone says it is physically very demanding and since I have never done a pilgrimage like this before I have to say I am a bit scared about it, especially since I am going on my own. They say sometimes its 40km between the possible accommodation? And if it is very tough what if I don't make it until the dark?

Visit the Eroski website for whichever route is of interest to you and see which albergues will be open at that time of the year.

 

[Dave]

You definitely wouldn't have to cover 40km to arrive at the next accommodation, so that's the good news! From Oviedo, you'd have roughly 300km to walk. I'd suggest doing that in 12 stages, so you'd average 25km per day. The longest days in there would be around 30km. You would consistently face elevation gain/loss in the 400-600m/day range, with one tough day approaching 1000m. Many of the albergues on this route will be open, but there will be cheap pensiónes available as well.

You know you best. Setting aside pilgrimage, what's your hiking background? Have you hiked for distance or elevation before?

 

[ElizaMetere]

You definitely wouldn't have to cover 40km to arrive at the next accommodation, so that's the good news! From Oviedo, you'd have roughly 300km to walk. I'd suggest doing that in 12 stages, so you'd average 25km per day. The longest days in there would be around 30km. You would consistently face elevation gain/loss in the 400-600m/day range, with one tough day approaching 1000m. Many of the albergues on this route will be open, but there will be cheap pensiónes available as well.

You know you best. Setting aside pilgrimage, what's your hiking background? Have you hiked for distance or elevation before?

I climbed Mont Blanc...but that was like 10 years ago and I am definitely not after THAT kind of hike I still want to have some energy left for some self enquiry. I'm really after some mountains and nature more than physically tough challenge.

 

[Dave]

Wow! Well, this is easier than Mont Blanc, for sure. I can't fully recommend the Primitivo in March to you, simply because of the weather questions, but it definitely fulfills many of your interests. As you can see from the above posts, you have a number of options, but I think it will ultimately come down to the Francés (safer, more pilgrims, lots of facilities) and Primitivo (more mountains, more rural, fewer pilgrims and facilities).

The good news is that you don't necessarily need to commit one way or the other ahead of time. León and Oviedo are pretty close to each other, so regardless of where you fly in, it won't be too great a hardship to get to either.

 

[ElizaMetere]

Wow! Well, this is easier than Mont Blanc, for sure. I can't fully recommend the Primitivo in March to you, simply because of the weather questions, but it definitely fulfills many of your interests. As you can see from the above posts, you have a number of options, but I think it will ultimately come down to the Francés (safer, more pilgrims, lots of facilities) and Primitivo (more mountains, more rural, fewer pilgrims and facilities).

The good news is that you don't necessarily need to commit one way or the other ahead of time. León and Oviedo are pretty close to each other, so regardless of where you fly in, it won't be too great a hardship to get to either.

Thank you so much! I suppose I will have to feel into it and I still have some time to decide. Thank you thank you! This has helped me so much!

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hi,

I read through this thread rapidly... Has anyone told you about the Camino de Invierno? It would fit in your time-span. If you're fast, you can add Santiago-Mugía/Fisterra within those weeks as well. Hills: yes. Nature: yes. Rural: yes. There is some asphalt, but no more than you'll find on any other Camino. It's in Galicia, so once again the weather in March may be tricky. Albergues: look it up, I don't know if they're open all year round. Forum member Peregrina2000 is currently completing a guide for this route, to be operative from January 2016. Look at the Forum of the Camino de Invierno for more info. According to me it should be everything you ask for. But: there's a lot of loose dogs included in the rural-ness of it...

/Bad Pilgrim

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Hi,

I read through this thread rapidly... Has anyone told you about the Camino de Invierno? It would fit in your time-span. If you're fast, you can add Santiago-Mugía/Fisterra within those weeks as well. Hills: yes. Nature: yes. Rural: yes. There is some asphalt, but no more than you'll find on any other Camino. It's in Galicia, so once again the weather in March may be tricky. Albergues: look it up, I don't know if they're open all year round. Forum member Peregrina2000 is currently completing a guide for this route, to be operative from January 2016. Look at the Forum of the Camino de Invierno for more info. According to me it should be everything you ask for. But: there's a lot of loose dogs included in the rural-ness of it...

/Bad Pilgrim

Look up www.caminodeinvierno.com, a very detailed and comprehensive site. It shows maps, elevations, explanations on etapas sections and sleeping accomodation options. Also long etapas but many can be broken up by staying in hotels and pensiones. At a cost in comparison to albergues of course.