Camino Primitivo

The Primitive Way, or Camino Primitivo, runs from Oviedo southwest across the Asturian and Galician uplands to Melide, where it joins the French Way, covering roughly 265 km. It is regarded as the earliest of the Caminos, following the journey made by Alfonso II of Asturias in the ninth century from his capital at Oviedo to the newly identified tomb of the apostle.

Oviedo’s Cámara Santa, part of the cathedral complex and a repository of Asturian pre-Romanesque relics, marked the starting point, and pilgrims on other routes long detoured here to see it, a habit preserved in the saying that one who visits Santiago without Salvador honours the servant but not the master. Nearby stand Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo, ninth-century royal buildings of the same tradition.

The route crosses the Cordillera Cantábrica through Grado, Salas and Tineo before reaching the Puerto del Palo. Here it divides: the Ruta de los Hospitales follows an exposed ridge above 1,000 m past the ruins of medieval pilgrim shelters, while the alternative through Pola de Allande stays lower and is used when weather closes the high ground. Beyond the reservoir crossing at Grandas de Salime the path enters Galicia at Fonsagrada, then descends to Lugo, whose Roman walls form a complete circuit of more than 2 km and are inscribed by UNESCO.

Sustained climbing defines the walking, with more cumulative ascent than any other main route and long stretches without settlements. Numbers have risen sharply since the 2010s, though it remains far quieter than the routes it eventually feeds into.